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
In 1942 Fiorello La Guardia, New York City’s mayor, was photographed smashing a pinball machine with a sledgehammer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
But her ability to manage her finances is not your responsibility, and we risk embroiling you further in her emotional blackmail and psychological pinball machine by discussing her money troubles.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2025
It’s as if we’re inside a pinball machine, with tiny objects orbiting around one another maniacally, wheels spinning, helmets twisting, boards whizzing by or flying into the air before crashing back down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2025
It’s like a pinball machine, and I’m the little silver ball that everyone is whacking and slapping around.
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
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.
