# machinery

/məˈʃinɝi/ (US) · /məʃˈiːnəɹi/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/machinery
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. industrial equipment

noun · CEFR B2

a group of large machines used in a factory or for a specific type of work.

For teachers: the machines of a particular kind or those used in a specific place, considered collectively. Uncountable in this sense.

- The farm uses heavy machinery to harvest the wheat in late summer.
- The factory floor was filled with heavy machinery, much of which had been imported from Germany to ensure the highest precision in manufacturing.

### 2. moving parts

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

the internal parts of a machine that make it move and work.

For teachers: the working parts of a machine or instrument. Often used to describe the internal mechanisms of a device.

- You can see the complex machinery inside the old clock through the glass.
- The engineer spent hours cleaning the delicate machinery of the watch, ensuring that every tiny gear could rotate without friction.

### 3. organizational systems

noun · CEFR C1 · Academic · Formal

the systems, rules, or people that make a large organization or government function.

For teachers: the organized systems and procedures through which a complex organization or government operates.

- The machinery of government can be very slow when you need a quick answer.
- The administrative machinery of the university was so complex that even simple requests took months to process through the various committees.

### 4. literary devices

noun · CEFR C2 · Literary · Formal

the special methods or characters an author uses to make a story work.

For teachers: the literary or dramatic devices used to move a plot forward or create a specific effect. Often refers to supernatural elements in classical poetry.

- The author uses the machinery of a ghost story to talk about real history.
- Critics praised the way the playwright handled the machinery of the plot, weaving together three separate storylines into a single, satisfying conclusion.

## Examples

- The factory installed new machinery to speed up production.
- Agricultural machinery has become increasingly automated, allowing farmers to manage larger areas of land with fewer workers.
- The vast machinery of the state bureaucracy moved slowly, requiring months of paperwork before the new environmental regulations could be fully implemented.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.