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

She developed an interest for creating things at a young age, including plans for building a time machine when she was 7, she told New Yorker writer Ken Auletta.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

"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

As for Simpson, he may as well have arrived in Tampa via time machine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

Is a time machine just around the corner?

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

It was like stepping out of a time machine.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

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