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Synonyms

vending machine

American  

noun

  1. a coin-operated machine for selling small articles, beverages, etc.

vending machine British  

noun

  1. Also called: automat.  a machine that automatically dispenses consumer goods such as cigarettes, food, or petrol, when money is inserted

"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

Etymology

Origin of vending machine

First recorded in 1905–10

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.

Fujairah is like a "huge vending machine" for ships, Stanley added.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

"I hadn't eaten, and the vending machine wasn't working, all those things including toilet facilities, the bright lights and the noise all impact on you especially if you aren't well," she said.

From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026

He used Find My to locate the phone — at a vending machine for used electronics miles away, close to an ICE detention center.

From Salon • Jan. 14, 2026

"That largely explains the success of these machines," said Bottos, who describes them as "somewhere between a vending machine, a game of chance and a game of skill".

From Barron's • Dec. 26, 2025

On a pole beside the pool was a vending machine that, for a dime, dispensed small packets of fish food for tourists to feed the lunkers.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

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.