automatic
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automatic
- /ˌɔː.təˈmæt.ɪk/ UK
- /ˌɔː.təˈmæt.ɪk/ US
- [ˌɔː.ɾəˈmæɾ.ɪk] US
- /ˌɑː.təˈmæt.ɪk/ cot caught merger
- [ˌɑː.ɾəˈmæɾ.ɪk] cot caught merger
- /ˌɑː.təˈmæt.ɪk/ Canada, cot caught merger
- [ˌɑː.ɾəˈmæɾ.ɪk] Canada, cot caught merger
- /ˌoː.təˈmæt.ɪk/ Australia
Rhymes with -ætɪk
Where it comes from
Borrowed from New Latin automaticus, from Classical Latin automatum (“automaton”) + -icus (adjectival suffix), from Ancient Greek αὐτόματον (autómaton), neuter of αὐτόματος (autómatos, “self-moving, moving of oneself, self-acting, spontaneous”), from αὐτός (autós, “self, myself”) + μέμαα (mémaa, “to wish eagerly, strive, yearn, desire”). The original pronunciation, apparently with stress on the second syllable, was after the ultimate Greek base.
adjective more automatic · most automatic · dubious · automatick
-
Capable of operating without external control or intervention.
The automatic clothes washer was a great labor-saving device.
Similar: self-operating · Opposite: manual, non-automatic
-
Done out of habit or without conscious thought.
The reaction was automatic: flight!
Similar: instinctive, perfunctory, thoughtless, Pavlovian · Opposite: voluntary
- Necessary, inevitable, prescribed by logic, law, etc. Spitting at another player means an automatic red card.
- Firing continuously as long as the trigger is pressed until ammunition is exhausted. Fully automatic weapons cannot be legally owned by private citizens in the US, except in very special circumstances, as by private security companies.
- An autoloader; a semi-automatic or self-loading pistol, as opposed to a revolver or other manually actuated handgun, which fires one shot per pull of the trigger; distinct from machine guns. The US Army adopted John Browning's M1911 pistol as its sidearm, chambered in .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol).
- Automatically added to and removed from the stack during the course of function calls. Automatic variables are created on the stack. They are valid only from the point where they are declared to the end of the function.
- Having one or more finite-state automata.
noun automatics · automatick
-
A car with an automatic transmission; the transmission itself.
I never learned to drive a stick. I can only drive an automatic.
Opposite: manual, manual transmission, standard transmission, stick, stickshift, stick shift
- A semi-automatic pistol. The G-men raiding the speakeasy were equipped with .45 automatics, while the local policemen were carrying revolvers and shotguns.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: self-regulating, self-acting, reflex, involuntary, reflexive, mechanical, semiautomatic, automated, self-locking, machinelike, automatonlike, robotlike, autoloading, self-winding, automatic rifle, automatic pistol
Translations
Every language
adj capable of operating without external control
| Español | automático |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 자동 jadong, 자동적 jadongjeok |
| 日本語 | 自動の jidō no, 自動的な jidōteki na |
| 中文 | 自動的 /自动的 zìdòng de |
| हिन्दी | स्वचालित svacālit, ऑटोमैटिक ŏṭomaiṭik |
| Português | automático |
| Français | automatique |
| Deutsch | automatisch |
| Italiano | automatico |
| Ελληνικά | αυτόματος aftómatos |
| Română | automat |
| Русский | автомати́ческий avtomatíčeskij |
| Tiếng Việt | tự động |
| العربية | تِلْقَائِيّ tilqāʔiyy, أُوتُوماتِيكِيّ ʔotomātīkiyy, آلِيّ ʔāliyy |
| עברית | אוֹטוֹמָטִי otomáti |
adj acting without conscious thought
| Português | automático |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | automatisch |
| Italiano | automatico |
| Ελληνικά | αυτόματος aftómatos |
| Română | automat |
| Русский | автомати́ческий avtomatíčeskij, механи́ческий mexaníčeskij, машина́льный mašinálʹnyj, нево́льный nevólʹnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | tự nhiên |
| العربية | تِلْقَائِيّ tilqāʔiyy |
adj describing a firearm which fires continuously
| Español | automático |
|---|---|
| Português | automático |
| Français | automatique |
| Deutsch | Maschinen-, automatisch |
| Italiano | automatico |
| Ελληνικά | αυτόματο aftómato, αυτόματος aftómatos |
| Русский | автомати́ческий avtomatíčeskij |
| Tiếng Việt | tự động |
noun a car with automatic transmission
| Español | automático |
|---|---|
| Русский | автома́т avtomát |
noun a semi-automatic pistol
| Español | semi-automática |
|---|---|
| Português | semiautomática |
| Français | semi-automatique |
| Русский | автома́т avtomát |
Talk about this word "automatic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/automatic. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. automatic. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/automatic "automatic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/automatic.Cite this
@misc{automatic_2026,
title = {automatic},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/automatic},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
