pinball machine
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of pinball machine
First recorded in 1935–40
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He compared trying to find a path between bins and cars as being "like a pinball machine".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Since then there has been a minor resurgence via boutique independent manufacturers, but one seldom sees a pinball machine in everyday spaces anymore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
The Fed slowed QT because the standing repo facility, their emergency lending window, started lighting up like a pinball machine.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 5, 2025
A vintage “Halloween” pinball machine and a life-size Nosferatu hover near his easy chair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2025
It was the fanciest bar in Welch, with a picture window, a grill that served hamburgers and french fries, and a pinball machine.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
