noun

• Any of the basic mechanical devices for applying a force, such as an inclined plane, wedge, or lever.

  ‘You build a simple machine which applies a gradually increasing force F to the centre of the beam while it is supported at its ends in a horizontal position.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Bandwidth, coupled with compression technologies, will be the coin of the realm, and if Archimedes were alive today, he would immediately recognize it as the lever in his simple machine.’
  • ‘The earliest treatise in mechanics, the Mechanical Problems ascribed to Aristotle, begins with problems having to do with a simple machine, the lever.’
  • ‘The six simple machines are the primary machines that can be found in even the most complex machines.’
  • ‘It also includes information about ferries, simple machines, whales, and computers among other scientific ideas.’