The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word AUTOMATON
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
U
T
O
M
A
T
O
N
More clues leading to the result AUTOMATON
- Superior fruit eaten by an android
- Mechanical man in car on about rug
- Zombie relative almost eating fruit
- First of ugli fruit fed to an inanimate machine
- Gold coin finally found under fruit machine
- A fruit in June peeled, one not thinking?
- Unthinking type taking fruit in autumn, no stomach for it
- Trifling amount to a robot
- Robot packing fruit in metal can at base
- What can make car chap has to get round to?
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "inanimate machine" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case inanimate machine = automaton.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does AUTOMATON mean?
AUTOMATON noun- A machine or robot designed to follow a precise sequence of instructions.
- A person who acts like a machine or robot, often defined as having a monotonous lifestyle and lacking in emotion.
- A formal system, such as finite automaton.
- A toy in the form of a mechanical figure.
- The self-acting power of the muscular and nervous systems, by which movement is effected without intelligent determination.