| the tablelike, usually coin-operated machine on which pinball is played. |
| pinball machine n. A device on which pinball is played. |
pinball machine
earliest of the coin-activated popular electromechanical games, usually found in candy stores, pool halls, drinking establishments, and amusement arcades, some of which, at the height of the game's popularity, were exclusively devoted to pinball. Pinball originated in its modern form in about 1930. Earlier machines had been purely mechanical. The earliest machines with coin slots used marbles and cost a penny to play. Steel balls replaced the marbles, and the single-coin price to play rose with inflation
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