machinery

noun

mə-ˈshē-nə-rē How to pronounce machinery (audio)
Definition of machinerynext
as in instrumentality
something used to achieve an end sincerely believes that the machinery of government can be used to better people's lives

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of machinery Chemical suppliers are developing increasingly sophisticated products, while machinery, software and process control continue to improve. — Alice Tonello, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026 America’s aging farmers have been holding on to machinery for longer than usual as low crop prices and rising costs squeezed their finances. — Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026 New technologies are being disseminated ever more quickly, and the machinery of politics and law delivers accountability at best intermittently, and then only at a painstaking crawl. — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 Because of the challenging terrain, the bridges are designed to be constructed without heavy machinery. — Fatma Tanis, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for machinery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for machinery
  1. instrumentality
  2. vehicle
  3. instrument
  4. means
  5. agent
  6. mechanism
  7. organ
Noun
  • Issued by the Wyoming Stable Token Commission, a state instrumentality created under the Wyoming Stable Token Act (2023), FRNT is fully reserved and managed in partnership with Franklin Templeton.
    — Jason Brett, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Holding the weight of cotton’s influence on the world, and thus the instrumentality of Black labor, is painful, yet necessary work.
    — Cierra Black, Essence, 9 July 2025
Definition of instrumentality
Noun
  • The festival, with a capacity of 80,000 people, also was hit with mud and rain in 2023 as many attendees were trapped on its grounds, where vehicle traffic was temporarily limited and some hiked in the mud to nearby towns.
    — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Prosecutors allege the vehicles were purchased as part of an effort to disguise the origin of money generated through human trafficking.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of vehicle
Noun
  • During an operation, a surgeon controls robotic arms fitted with small instruments while viewing the surgical area through a three-dimensional vision system.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
  • In the meantime, the observatory will go through commissioning — testing out its instruments in space and deploying the antenna that will relay Roman’s massive imagery back to Earth.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of instrument
Noun
  • The Gulf states have experimented with ship-to-ship transfers and other means of moving crude around Iranian restrictions.
    — Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Living with endometriosis means becoming an expert on highly specialized ingredients and constantly cross-checking product labels.
    — Bella Webb, Vogue, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of means
Noun
  • Rogue OpenAI agents’ unprecedented coordination during the Hugging Face attack significantly increases the risk of AI escaping human control, analysts said, days after investigators released a bombshell report into the incident.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • This was followed by the creation of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) on July 22 to handle espionage and resistance agents, and the first raids were already being carried out.
    — David Szondy August 30, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of agent
Noun
  • View gallery - 4 images For decades, the recipe for a premium folding bicycle has been to engineer a smart hinge mechanism, choose your metal and fire up the welding torch.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The mechanism is worth understanding because oil is particularly susceptible to it.
    — Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of mechanism
Noun
  • While some of your organs are rapidly adding miles on their odometers, others tap the brakes on their biological birthdays.
    — Mike McRae September 04, New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026
  • LifeMine is currently testing a drug compound to prevent organ failure in transplant recipients.
    — Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of organ

Browse Nearby Words

machineries
machinery
machines
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Machinery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machinery. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on machinery

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about machinery

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All