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n. (Physics) a particle accelerator in which two separate beams of particles (usually of opposite charge) are circulated in opposite directions and directed so as to collide head on; -- called also colliding-beam accelerator and collider. This technique allows the production of collisions of higher energy than would be possible with a single beam produced by the same device.
Syn. -- particle collider; colliding-beam accelerator; collider. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. [ Shortened form of telefax, from tele- and facsimile. ] A device which is designed to transmit and receive images by the facsimile{ 2 } process. Such a device may also be able to perform other functions, such as scanning an image or copying an image; a telefax device. [ PJC ]

. (Aëronautics) A construction consisting essentially of one or more aëroplanes for gliding in an inclined path from a height to the ground. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Elec.) A kind of dynamo-electric machine; -- so named from its French inventor, M. Gramme. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. L. machina machine, engine, device, trick, Gr. mhchanh`, from mh^chos means, expedient. Cf. Mechanic. ] 1. In general, any combination of bodies so connected that their relative motions are constrained, and by means of which force and motion may be transmitted and modified, as a screw and its nut, or a lever arranged to turn about a fulcrum or a pulley about its pivot, etc.; especially, a construction, more or less complex, consisting of a combination of moving parts, or simple mechanical elements, as wheels, levers, cams, etc., with their supports and connecting framework, calculated to constitute a prime mover, or to receive force and motion from a prime mover or from another machine, and transmit, modify, and apply them to the production of some desired mechanical effect or work, as weaving by a loom, or the excitation of electricity by an electrical machine. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The term machine is most commonly applied to such pieces of mechanism as are used in the industrial arts, for mechanically shaping, dressing, and combining materials for various purposes, as in the manufacture of cloth, etc. Where the effect is chemical, or other than mechanical, the contrivance is usually denominated an apparatus or device, not a machine; as, a bleaching apparatus. Many large, powerful, or specially important pieces of mechanism are called engines; as, a steam engine, fire engine, graduating engine, etc. Although there is no well-settled distinction between the terms engine and machine among practical men, there is a tendency to restrict the application of the former to contrivances in which the operating part is not distinct from the motor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any mechanical contrivance, as the wooden horse with which the Greeks entered Troy; a coach; a bicycle. Dryden. Southey. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A person who acts mechanically or at the will of another. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A combination of persons acting together for a common purpose, with the agencies which they use; as, the social machine. [ 1913 Webster ]

The whole machine of government ought not to bear upon the people with a weight so heavy and oppressive. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A political organization arranged and controlled by one or more leaders for selfish, private or partisan ends; the Tammany machine. [ Political Cant ] [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Supernatural agency in a poem, or a superhuman being introduced to perform some exploit. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Elementary machine, a name sometimes given to one of the simple mechanical powers. See under Mechanical. --
Infernal machine. See under Infernal. --
Machine gun.See under Gun. --
Machine screw, a screw or bolt adapted for screwing into metal, in distinction from one which is designed especially to be screwed into wood. --
Machine shop, a workshop where machines are made, or where metal is shaped by cutting, filing, turning, etc. --
Machine tool, a machine for cutting or shaping wood, metal, etc., by means of a tool; especially, a machine, as a lathe, planer, drilling machine, etc., designed for a more or less general use in a machine shop, in distinction from a machine for producing a special article as in manufacturing. --
Machine twist, silken thread especially adapted for use in a sewing machine. --
Machine work, work done by a machine, in contradistinction to that done by hand labor. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Machined p. pr. & vb. n. Machining. ] To subject to the action of machinery; to make, cut, shape, or modify with a machine; to effect by aid of machinery; to print with a printing machine. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A threaded hexagonal or square-headed bolt with a nut; it is tightened with a wrench and used to connect metal parts. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Computers) Same as machine language. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. same as automated.
Syn. -- automated. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A fully automatic rapid-firing rifle, which continues to fire bullets repeatedly as long as the trigger is depressed; lighter versions may be carried in the hands, and heavier versions may be mounted on a tripod, vehicle, or other mount. The lighweight versions are sometimes called a submachine gun. [ PJC ]

a. Occurring in rapid succession, like the firing of a machine gun; as, Tom was a persuasive speaker, with a smooth deep voice, polysyllabic vocabulary, and a machine-gun articulation that overwhelmed listeners.
Syn. -- rapid-fire. [ PJC ]

n. A soldier who operates a machine gun. [ PJC ]

n. (Computers) a set of instructions{ 3 } in a binary form that can be executed directly by the CPU of a computer without translation by a computer program.
Syn. -- machine code, binary code. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

adj. behaving in an unthinking manner, like the functioning of a machine; as, machine-like fools.
Syn. -- automatic, automaton-like, automatonlike, machinelike, robotlike. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. made by a machine. Contrasted with handmade. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A programming language designed for use on a specific class of computers.
Syn. -- computer language, computer-oriented language, machine language. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A fully automatic pistol; a small submachine gun. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. One who or operates a machine; a machinist{ 2 }. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Computers) Readable by a machine; especially, available on a data-storage medium in a binary format that can be rapidly converted by standard input devices into data in a computer memory; as, the CIDE dictionary is a machine-readable dictionary. [ PJC ]

n. [ From Machine: cf. F. machinerie. ] 1. Machines, in general, or collectively. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The working parts of a machine, engine, or instrument; as, the machinery of a watch. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The supernatural means by which the action of a poetic or fictitious work is carried on and brought to a catastrophe; in an extended sense, the contrivances by which the crises and conclusion of a fictitious narrative, in prose or verse, are effected. [ 1913 Webster ]

The machinery, madam, is a term invented by the critics, to signify that part which the deities, angels, or demons, are made to act in a poem. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The means and appliances by which anything is kept in action or a desired result is obtained; a complex system of parts adapted to a purpose. [ 1913 Webster ]

An indispensable part of the machinery of state. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

The delicate inflexional machinery of the Aryan languages. I. Taylor (The Alphabet). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A type of screw used either with a nut or with a tapped hole; it has a slotted head which can be driven by a screwdriver. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A small business or a room within a business establishment where metal is cut and shaped etc., by machine tools. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A power-driven machine for cutting or shaping or finishing metals or other materials. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Computers) The translation of human language from one language to another by a computer; -- a branch of artificial intelligence.
Syn. -- computer translation, automatic translation. [ PJC ]

. A machine the operation of which is started by dropping a coin into a slot, for delivering small articles of merchandise, showing one's weight, exhibiting pictures, throwing dice, gambling, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]