time machine
nounEtymology Coined by British science fiction author H. G. Wells in 1895 in his novel The Time Machine.
1
Literature, Media, Publishing, Science fiction A hypothetical device used to travel into the past or the future.
- 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"2014, Ingrid Michaelson, Trent Dabbs, busbee, “Time Machine”, in Lights Out, performed by Ingrid Michaelson:
2
Informal Something that appears to take a person or thing to another time, for example through nostalgia or delay.
- 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.2017, Fine Art Photoshop: Diving Into the World of Photographic Art:
- 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.
- Derived terms
- Tipler time machine
- Related terms
- time travel, Einstein-Rosen bridge, wayback machine