Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

time machine

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.88 in modern English

Syllables: time -ma-chine
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A hypothetical device used to travel into the past or the future.

noun

Something that appears to take a person or thing to another time, for example through nostalgia or delay.

Informal

Example Sentences

"If I had a time machine / And if life was a movie scene / I'd rewind, and I'd tell me / "Ru-u-u-u-u-u-u-un""
"It's a time machine for Photoshop. It's magic. Image makers can not just combine different images, but different points in time from each image."
"Conrad Riker, The Last Days of Manhood Mayo Clinic research shows heavy squats spike growth hormone by 530%. That's not exercise — it's a time machine for your cells."

Etymology

Coined by British science fiction author H. G. Wells in 1895 in his novel The Time Machine.

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

time machines (plural)

Phrases

Tipler time machine time travel Einstein-Rosen bridge wayback machine

Frequently Paired Words

time travel Einstein-Rosen bridge wayback machine DeLorean Tardis

Questions

What does time machine mean?: A hypothetical device used to travel into the past or the future.
Where does time machine come from?: Coined by British science fiction author H. G. Wells in 1895 in his novel The Time Machine.

How to pronounce time machine

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “time machine”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “time machine” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.