machine de Rube Goldberg

\ma.ʃin də ʁub ɡɔld.bœʁɡ\

/\ma.ʃin də ʁub ɡɔld.bœʁɡ\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“machine de Rube Goldberg” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
24
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Machine qui réalise une tâche simple d’une manière délibérément complexifiée, le plus souvent à l’aide d’une réaction en chaine.

Key facts for machine de Rube Goldberg
PropertyValue
Headwordmachine de Rube Goldberg
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ma.ʃin də ʁub ɡɔld.bœʁɡ\
Letters24
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “machine de Rube Goldberg” sits in French frequency

machine de Rube Goldberg falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

machine de Rube Goldberg is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ma.ʃin də ʁub ɡɔld.bœʁɡ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Machine qui réalise une tâche simple d’une manière délibérément complexifiée, le plus souvent à l’aide d’une réaction en chaine.".

No misspelling variants are generated for machine de Rube Goldberg in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is machine de Rube Goldberg, spelled M-A-C-H-I-N-E- -D-E- -R-U-B-E- -G-O-L-D-B-E-R-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Machine qui réalise une tâche simple d’une manière délibérément complexifiée, le plus souvent à l’aide d’une réaction en chaine.

Synonyms

usine à gaz

This word in other languages

Rube Goldberg machine(English)

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

How do you spell "machine de Rube Goldberg"?
"machine de Rube Goldberg" is spelled M-A-C-H-I-N-E- -D-E- -R-U-B-E- -G-O-L-D-B-E-R-G. The IPA pronunciation is \ma.ʃin də ʁub ɡɔld.bœʁɡ\.
What does "machine de Rube Goldberg" mean?
As a noun, "machine de Rube Goldberg" means: Machine qui réalise une tâche simple d’une manière délibérément complexifiée, le plus souvent à l’aide d’une réaction en chaine.
How do you pronounce "machine de Rube Goldberg"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "machine de Rube Goldberg" is \ma.ʃin də ʁub ɡɔld.bœʁɡ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "machine de Rube Goldberg" come from?
"machine de Rube Goldberg" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “machine de Rube Goldberg”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is M-A-C-H-I-N-E- -D-E- -R-U-B-E- -G-O-L-D-B-E-R-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ma.ʃin də ʁub ɡɔld.bœʁɡ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list