Left two articles in machine (5)
I believe the answer is:
lathe
'machine' is the definition.
(machine for shaping metal etc)
'left two articles in' is the wordplay.
'two articles' can mean two replacements for 'article'.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'article' becomes 'the' (the definite article in English).
'article' becomes 'a' (English indefinite article).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'l'+'the'='lthe'
'lthe' enclosing 'a' is 'LATHE'.
(Other definitions for lathe that I've seen before include "Machine tool for shaping metal or wood" , "Turner's machine" , "Turner's tool" , "Turning instrument" , "Means for turning" .)