time machine
Definition
Noun: A hypothetical device, often featured in science fiction, that is conceived as being capable of transporting a person or object either backward into the past or forward into the future.
Usage
The term "time machine" is used to discuss the concept of time travel in speculative fiction, theoretical physics, and philosophical thought experiments. It is almost always used as a singular noun phrase.
Examples
- The protagonist built a time machine to prevent the tragic event.
- Many stories explore the paradoxes that could arise from using a time machine.
- Is a time machine theoretically possible according to the laws of physics?
Advanced Usage
- Conceptual Use: The phrase is often used metaphorically to describe anything that evokes a strong sense of a past or future era.
- This old film is a time machine to the 1920s.
- "Time Machine" as a Title: It famously serves as the title of H.G. Wells's 1895 novella, , which popularized the concept.
Variants and Related Words
- Time Travel (n): The concept or action of moving between different points in time, which is the function a time machine performs.
- Chrononaut (n): (A rare, speculative term) A traveler who uses a time machine; an astronaut of time.
Synonyms
- Chronovehicle (rare, literary)
- Temporal transporter (speculative/scientific)
Related Phrases
- To build/invent a time machine: The common action associated with the device.
- He dreamed of inventing a time machine.
- To operate/activate a time machine: To set the device into function.
- She hesitated before activating the time machine.
Notes on Meaning
The "time machine" is a fictional construct. Its specific mechanisms (e.g., a vehicle, a portal, a device) vary across stories. Its core defining feature is not its form but its function: enabling controlled travel to another temporal coordinate. Discussions about its feasibility belong to theoretical physics and philosophy.
Noun
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a science fiction machine that is supposed to transport people or objects into the past or the future
