WordGarden.iomachinery
B1Pronunciation
UK
- /məʃˈiːnəri/
US
- /məˈʃinəri/
Meanings
Noun
machines or machine parts collectively, especially industrial equipment
the system of procedures or structures that make an organization or process work
Beyond the definition
Machinery is the set of machines, equipment, or moving parts used to do work. You will often hear it in places like factories, farms, building sites, and workshops, where large or complex equipment is doing an important job. It can mean one large machine, but more often it means machines as a group or the working parts inside something.
The word is also used in a wider, less physical way. When people speak about "the machinery of government" or "the machinery of justice," they mean the system of offices, people, and processes that keeps something running. So the word can describe both real equipment and an organized system that works behind the scenes.
Machinery refers to machines, equipment, or mechanical parts used to perform work. In everyday English, it often points to heavy or useful equipment in places such as factories, farms, mines, workshops, and construction sites. People talk about farm machinery, industrial machinery, or heavy machinery when they mean the machines needed for a certain kind of work.
The word can describe separate machines taken together, or the working parts inside a single thing. For example, the machinery in a clock or a car means the parts that make it work. In many contexts, it suggests something mechanical, practical, and built for action rather than something small or decorative.
It is also common in a figurative sense. Phrases like "the machinery of government," "the machinery of justice," or "the party machinery" describe the organized system of people, rules, offices, and processes that make an institution operate. In this use, the focus is on how many parts work together to produce a result.
The idea behind the word is coordination and function: parts working together to get something done. Whether it refers to physical equipment or to an official system, "machinery" usually suggests structure, power, and organized movement behind the work.
Examples
- 1
Factory production
The factory bought new machinery to speed up production.
- 2
Trained operators
Only trained workers are allowed to operate the machinery.
- 3
Safety warning
Keep your hands away from moving machinery.
- 4
Farm work
The farm uses heavy machinery during the harvest.
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Machine part
One small piece of machinery broke, and the whole line stopped.
- Phrasepiece of machinery
one machine or part of a machine
- 6
Government systems
The machinery of government moves slowly, even in a crisis.
- Patternthe machinery of + organization/process
the system that makes it work
- 7
Legal process
Once the contract was signed, the company set the legal machinery in motion.
- Phraseset the machinery in motion
start an official or organized process
See also
Similar
Shades of meaning
Contrast
- manual labor
- hand tools
Used with (collocations)
- heavy machinery
- agricultural machinery
- industrial machinery
- machinery parts
Word family
Explore
Forms and spellings
2 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- machinerynoun
Forms
- machineriespluralnoun