Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
noun
A piece of medical equipment, especially a bedside monitor; particularly one perceived as superfluous.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: humorous, informal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Coined in the movie Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983), in a sketch depicting a group of doctors at a birth more interested in the technological equipment than the mother and baby. The eponymous machine serves no apparent purpose except making an occasional ping sound.
