contraption

That could include an elaborate Lego contraption, robotics or a self-programmed way to turn off the lights and close the curtains, Magill added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Lillard's uncle and grandfather created a contraption that would open the iron lung so Lillard could live alone and get in out of the iron lung herself.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

ROMONT, Switzerland—Willy Wonka would have marveled at one of the machines at a manufacturing plant here—a contraption that injects flavors into coffee capsules via a set of whirring tubes labeled “hazelnut,” “caramel,” and “blueberry cheesecake.”

From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026

His hair-trigger homemade contraption pressured all three major networks into giving Kiritsis airtime to explain his grievances to the public.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026

Alice and I sat on the bank leisurely watching as the contraption went up and down, up and down, turning acorns into flour.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

The “personal computers” of the day were hobbyists’ kits, contraptions that arrived in pieces, with output displays that were limited to blinking red lights.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026

They install heat cables in the soil to keep their pumpkins warm, build contraptions to cover them from the sun and add grow-lights for cloudy days.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025

Crowds hoot and cheer as the contraptions float into the darkening sky, while referees judge the magnificence of their aerial explosions.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025

All those Rube Goldberg contraptions we used to make our marriages equal, like hiring a house cleaner, the nanny, and family who lives close by, were stripped away.

From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2024

Instantly these technological contraptions be­came as precious to me as cattle are to a farmer.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel