time machine

American  

noun

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

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time machine British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of time machine

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

“Who’d send a bunch of babies in a time machine?” he asked scornfully.

From Literature

Imagine a time machine, like Doc Brown’s DeLorean in “Back to the Future,” that could transport us to the best possible times in history to invest.

From The Wall Street Journal

Both a discovery and a reemergence, “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” is like a time machine moving in multiple directions at once.

From Los Angeles Times

“Fire, it turns out, can be a remarkable time machine,” he writes, “a curious form of teleportation into the past and future all at once.”

From Los Angeles Times

By putting on a uniform and re-creating the life of those soldiers, one could step into a time machine.

From The Wall Street Journal