machinery

machinery — noun

1. large mechanical devices thought of as a group, or the moving parts inside a dev

1.名詞B1
釋義

large mechanical devices thought of as a group, or the moving parts inside a device that allow it to operate.

例句

The factory installed new heavy machinery to speed up production.

collocation: heavy machinery

Yara had to read the safety guide before operating any machinery at the construction site.

pattern: operating + machinery

同義詞
  • equipment

    broader term that includes tools and devices beyond just machines

  • apparatus

    more formal, often used for scientific or technical devices

  • gear

    informal, can refer to equipment for a specific activity

  • hardware

    focuses on the physical components of a computer or mechanical system

文法句型

machinery + singular verb

piece/item of machinery

用法筆記

Frequently paired with nouns that identify the type of work (farm machinery, factory machinery, construction machinery). Machinery is an uncountable noun — use a piece of machinery or an item of machinery to refer to one device.

常見錯誤

❌The workshop has three new machineries.
✅The workshop has three new machines.
💡machinery is uncountable and does not take a plural -s form.
❌I need to repair a machinery.
✅I need to repair a piece of machinery.
💡for a single device, use a piece of machinery instead of a machinery.

2. the systems, official processes, and people that together make an organization o

2.名詞B2
釋義

the systems, official processes, and people that together make an organization or activity work — for example, the machinery of government, the machinery of justice, or the machinery of a political party.

例句

The machinery of government moves slowly when new laws need approval from several departments.

pattern: the machinery of + [institution]

Beatriz studied how the legal machinery handles trade disputes between the two countries.

collocation: legal machinery

同義詞
  • system

    more general and neutral; less metaphorical than machinery

  • apparatus

    similar formality, used for the structures of an organization

  • structure

    focuses on the arrangement of parts rather than the processes

  • organization

    emphasises how people and roles are arranged

反義詞

文法句型

the machinery of + noun

machinery for + noun/-ing

用法筆記

Common in formal or journalistic writing. The noun that follows the machinery of is almost always an abstract institution (government, justice, democracy, war). The phrase machinery for + noun/-ing is also possible but less frequent (machinery for resolving disputes).

常見錯誤

❌The machinery of our office lunch break is too complicated.
✅The system for our office lunch break is too complicated.
💡this metaphorical use sounds too grand for everyday situations; use system, process, or arrangement instead.
❌We need to fix the machinery of the computer.
✅We need to fix the computer.
💡sense 2 is for abstract organizations/processes, not physical devices.