time machine
Temporal travel device
A time machine is a hypothetical device that transports people or objects to different points in time—past or future.
The concept belongs to science fiction, popularized by H.G.
Wells's 1895 novel *The Time Machine*.
The term extends loosely to anything that evokes the past: This old diner is a time machine to the 1950s.
Time Machine author
- Doctor WhoTime-traveling alien series
- TerminatorKiller android series
- Bill and TedBodacious time travelers
- LooperTime-travel assassination thriller
Back to the Future · science fiction · steampunk · narrative · protagonist · Morlocks · paradox · alternate history
Improvised or odd mechanism
- apparatusEquipment for a task
- gadgetNovel small device
- clockworkSpring-driven gear system
- consoleComfort in distress
dial · lever · button · panel · switch · flux capacitor · DeLorean · TARDIS
Time travel logical contradiction
- bootstrap paradoxSelf-caused existence loop
- causalityCause-effect connection
- butterfly effectSmall inputs, disproportionate results
- loopCurve closing on itself
timeline · multiverse · alternate reality · ripple effect · predestination · self-fulfilling · closed loop · branching
Time already gone
- futureTime still to come
- prehistoryEra before writing
- dinosaursExtinct prehistoric reptiles
- ancient EgyptNile civilization of antiquity
medieval · Renaissance · Victorian · antiquity · tomorrow · timeline · era · epoch
Travel from place to place
- voyageJourney by sea
- expeditionOrganized exploratory journey
- adventureRisky exciting undertaking
- departureAct of going away
arrival · return · passenger · traveler · navigator · coordinates · temporal · displacement
Creator of original devices
- blueprintDetailed technical drawing
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
- laboratoryFacility for scientific investigation
- tinkererHobbyist who adjusts mechanisms
mad scientist · breakthrough · discovery · engineering · mechanics · contraption · experiment · research
H.G. Wells
Time Machine author
- Doctor WhoTime-traveling alien series
- TerminatorKiller android series
- Bill and TedBodacious time travelers
Back to the Future · Looper · science fiction · steampunk · narrative · protagonist · Morlocks · paradox · alternate history · speculative
contraption
Improvised or odd mechanism
console · dial · lever · button · panel · switch · flux capacitor · DeLorean · TARDIS · phone booth
grandfather paradox
Time travel logical contradiction
- bootstrap paradoxSelf-caused existence loop
- causalityCause-effect connection
- butterfly effectSmall inputs, disproportionate results
loop · timeline · multiverse · alternate reality · ripple effect · predestination · self-fulfilling · closed loop · branching · convergence
past
Time already gone
- futureTime still to come
- prehistoryEra before writing
- dinosaursExtinct prehistoric reptiles
ancient Egypt · medieval · Renaissance · Victorian · antiquity · tomorrow · timeline · era · epoch · century
journey
Travel from place to place
- voyageJourney by sea
- expeditionOrganized exploratory journey
- adventureRisky exciting undertaking
departure · arrival · return · passenger · traveler · navigator · coordinates · temporal · displacement · leap
inventor
Creator of original devices
- blueprintDetailed technical drawing
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
- laboratoryFacility for scientific investigation
tinkerer · mad scientist · breakthrough · discovery · engineering · mechanics · contraption · experiment · research · theoretical physics
- Back to the FutureDeLorean, Doc Brown, Marty McFly, flux capacitor, hoverboard
- sci-fi techteleporter, cryonics, force fields, mind uploading, blaster
- Sci-Fi IconsTARDIS, DeLorean, Enterprise, Millennium Falcon, Death Star
- sci-fiscience fiction, Star Wars, sci-fi, Blade Runner 2049, aliens
- Famous VehiclesBatmobile, DeLorean, KITT, Ecto-1, Herbie
- science fiction drawingspaceship, starship, robot, alien, UFO
time machineteleporter
Instant location-shifting machine
transporter beam · transporter · space ship · starship · warp drive
time machinehere and now
The current moment
living in the moment · clock · hourglass · sundial · time-keeper
time machinemagic spell
Supernatural verbal formula
prophecy · oracle · crystal ball · enchantment · divine intervention
time, machine, times, timer, machinery, mechanical, timely, mechanism, timing