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

"You want to see what it looks like ten years in the future? Tuvalu is a time machine for Australia."

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

You’re probably younger, but you also don’t own a time machine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

"It feels like you've jumped on a time machine," Rio says.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

In the movie, Bolleau played the teen daughter of two scientists who build a time machine that malfunctions, forcing the kids to take care of their parents as they “de-age” and become children.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

When he was younger, he had fantasized that there might be something strange up there...a time machine or a UFO.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

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