machinery

[ muh-shee-nuh-ree ]
/ məˈʃi nə ri /

noun, plural ma·chin·er·ies.

an assemblage of machines or mechanical apparatuses: the machinery of a factory.
the parts of a machine, collectively: the machinery of a watch.
a group of people or a system by which action is maintained or by which some result is obtained: the machinery of government.
a group of contrivances for producing stage effects.
the group or aggregate of literary machines, especially those of supernatural agency (epic machinery) in an epic poem.

Origin of machinery

First recorded in 1680–90; machine + -ery

OTHER WORDS FROM machinery

an·ti·ma·chin·er·y, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for machinery

British Dictionary definitions for machinery

machinery
/ (məˈʃiːnərɪ) /

noun plural -eries

machines, machine parts, or machine systems collectively
a particular machine system or set of machines
a system similar to a machine the machinery of government
literary devices used for effect in epic poetry