Rube Goldberg machine
"rube-goldberg-machine" is a 19-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Rube Goldberg machine” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 21
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A comical, overcomplicated machine which performs a simple task.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Rube Goldberg machine |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 21 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Rube Goldberg machine” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
Rube Goldberg machine is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for Rube Goldberg machine in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Named for Rube Goldberg, an American cartoonist, who drew many such machines. The correct English form is Rube Goldberg machine, spelled R-U-B-E- -G-O-L-D-B-E-R-G- -M-A-C-H-I-N-E.
Definition
- 1A comical, overcomplicated machine which performs a simple task.
- 2Anything that is overly complicated.
Etymology
Named for Rube Goldberg, an American cartoonist, who drew many such machines.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “Rube Goldberg machine”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-U-B-E- -G-O-L-D-B-E-R-G- -M-A-C-H-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.