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time machine

American

noun

a theoretical apparatus that would convey one to the past or future.

time machine British

noun

(in science fiction) a machine in which people or objects can be transported into the past or the future

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

time machines

plural

Etymology

Origin of time machine

First recorded in 1890–95

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.

See Examples For:

time machine

McCartney’s musical time machine eventually alights on “Salesman Saint,” a reference to his father, Jim Mac, who died in 1976.

From Salon ● May 12, 2026

Imagine what it would be like to step in a time machine and jump 50 years into the future.

From Barron's ● Mar. 31, 2026

The year is 2026, and we still haven't invented a working time machine.

From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026

The story revolved around needing to find 1.21 gigawatts of power, or the equivalent of a lighting strike, to send Doc Brown’s famed DeLorean time machine back home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 16, 2025

"First you need to invent a time machine," I say.

From "Freak The Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023