wayback machine

noun

variants or less commonly Wayback Machine
humorous
: a device for traveling into the past
The past always seems a little better than the present, so who wouldn't want to take a trip in the wayback machine?Steven Zeitchik
He sort of resembles a grown-up version of Sherman, the cartoon character from "Rocky and His Friends" who used to join the dog Peabody on travels through history in "the wayback machine."Joel Selvin

Examples of wayback machine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Our sources include the 2024 Green Party Platform, a wayback machine capture of the 2020 platform, and Jill Stein 2024’s Website. Trans Formations Project, Them, 20 Sep. 2024 Who needs a national title to dial up the wayback machine, eh? Ryan Ford, Detroit Free Press, 7 Nov. 2022 Khaki pants aren't new to fashion like wearing a sweater over only one arm, or plucked from the wayback machine at a moment that feels new like cargo pants. Halie Lesavage, Harper's BAZAAR, 25 July 2022 Sixteen straight wins come with privileges: The Cardinals’ magic number to claim the NL wild card is one, leaving them a week to fine-tune the engine on Adam Wainwright’s wayback machine before a likely date at Dodger Stadium Oct. 6. Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 27 Sep. 2021 Goose Island is dipping into the wayback machine — and in terms of craft beer, 2014 feels like forever ago — to re-create the 2014 version of its Proprietor’s Bourbon County Stout. Josh Noel, chicagotribune.com, 10 Aug. 2021 Zall's program, established in 1992, was a kind of wayback machine that looked to as long ago as 1960. Star Tribune, 8 Jan. 2021 Your question reads like something pulled from the wayback machine -- when mothers encouraged, coached, or bullied their daughters on how to catch a man. Amy Dickinson, chicagotribune.com, 31 Oct. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of wayback machine was in 1961

Dictionary Entries Near wayback machine

Cite this Entry

“Wayback machine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wayback%20machine. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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