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.
Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that, to a lonely young man, a pinball machine might seem to have its own “temperament and moods,” but then technology is often perceived as emotional.
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
The original 1993 Broadway musical, with its flying Tommy and galloping pinball machine, was a visual groundbreaker, warmed by excellent performances.
From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2024
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.
