Definition of "submachine"

submachine¹

noun
plural submachines
1. A machine forming part of a larger machine.
  1. (computer science) A part of a real or virtual machine which acts as a machine in its own right.
    Quotations
    In the same computation, the computer may be decomposed repeatedly and the partitioning may vary from one split to the other. The submachines can further recursively decompose […]
    1999, Martin Beran, “Decomposable Bulk Synchronous Parallel Computers”, in SOFSEM '99: Theory and Practice of Informatics‎, page 351

submachine²

adjective
not comparable
1. Of or pertaining to a submachine gun.
  Quotations
  The body of one of the dead crewmen bounced and rolled a little as the submachine rounds ripped into it.
  2003, Milt Bearden, James Risen, The Main Enemy‎, page 244