Dictionary for auto
auto - au·to ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ôt)
n. pl. au·tos
An automobile.
intr.v. au·toed, au·to·ing, au·tos
To go by or ride in an automobile.
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[Short for automobile]
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Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
[Buy it]
auto- or aut-
pref.
Self; same: autogamy.
Automatic: autopilot.
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[Greek, from autos, self.]
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Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
automatic - au·to·mat·ic ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ôt-mtk)
adj.
Acting or operating in a manner essentially independent of external influence or control: an automatic light switch; a budget deficit that triggered automatic spending cuts.
Self-regulating: an automatic washing machine.
Acting or done without volition or conscious control; involuntary: automatic shrinking of the pupils of the eyes in strong light. See Synonyms at spontaneous.
Acting or done as if by machine; mechanical: an automatic reply to a familiar question.
Capable of firing continuously until ammunition is exhausted or the trigger is released: an automatic rifle.
Semiautomatic: an automatic pistol.
n.
An automatic machine or device.
An automatic firearm.
A semiautomatic firearm.
A transmission or a motor vehicle with an automatic gear-shifting mechanism.
Football. See audible.
Idiom:
on automatic
Functioning by or as if by automatic machine or device.
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[From Greek automatos : auto-, auto- + -matos, willing; see men-1 in Indo-European Roots.]
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automatically - auto·mati·cal·ly adv. auto·ma·tici·ty (-m-ts-t) n.
Word History: The words automatic pilot or automatic transmission bring to mind mechanical devices that operate with minimal human intervention. Yet the word automatic, which goes back to the Greek word automatos, “acting of one's own will, self-acting, of itself,” made up of two parts, auto-, “self,” and -matos, “willing,” is first recorded in English in 1748 with reference to motions of the body, such as the peristaltic action of the intestines: “The Motions are called automatic from their Resemblance to the Motions of Automata, or Machines, whose Principle of Motion is within themselves.” Although the writer had machines in mind, automatic could be used of living things, a use we still have. The association of automatic chiefly with machinery may represent one instance of many in which we have come to see the world in mechanical terms.
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Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
auto
- \Au"to-\ An abbrev. of automobile, used as a prefix with the meaning of self-moving, self-propelling; as, an autocar, an autocarriage, an autotruck, etc., an automobile car, carriage, truck, etc.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
auto
- \Au"to-\ [Gr. ? self.] A combining form, with the meaning of self, one's self, one's own, itself, its own.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
auto
n : 4-wheeled motor vehicle; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine; "he needs a car to get to work" [syn: car, automobile, machine, motorcar]
Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University
auto, AS (village, FIPS 20100)
Location: 14.28161 S, 170.62682 W
Population (1990): 255 (33 housing units)
Area: 0.8 sq km (land), 0.3 sq km (water)
auto, WV
Zip code(s): 24917
Source: U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
auto
AUTO: in Acronym Finder
Source: Acronym Finder, © 1988-2001 Mountain Data Systems
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