automobile

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automobile

/ˈɔː.tə.məˌbiːl/ Australia, New Zealand, UK
/ˈɔː.tə.məˌbil/ US
/ˌɔː.tə.məˈbil/ US
/ˌɔː.təˈmoʊ.bil/ US
/ˈɑː.tə.məˌbil/ cot caught merger
/ˈɑː.tə.məˈbil/ cot caught merger
/ˈɑː.təˈmoʊ.bil/ cot caught merger

Where it comes from

From French automobile, from Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”) + French mobile (“moving”), from Latin mōbilis (“movable”), equivalent to auto- (“self”) + mobile.

noun automobiles

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Philippines, US A type of motor vehicle designed to move on the ground under its own stored power and intended to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers, and a very limited amount of other load. Meronym: see list of auto parts
Similar: auto, automobile, cage, cah, car, devil wagon, horseless carriage, motor car, wheels, whip

verb automobiles · automobiling · automobiled

dated, intransitive To travel by automobile. The misguided youngsters are yachting, attending the races, playing the "stage Johnny," automobiling, playing poker for high stakes, overliving at home, on expensive shopping tours, attending box parties to the theatre, visiting high-priced restaurants, etc., etc.

adjective

not comparable Self-moving; self-propelled. As early as 1898 I proposed to representatives of a large manufacturing concern the construction and public exhibition of an automobile carriage which, left to itself, would perform a great variety of operations involving something akin to judgment.
Similar: autokinetic

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: motorcar, car, auto, machine, motorist, bus, vehicular, vehicle, motoring, carmaker, truck, automaker, road, cart, sedan, parking

Translations

Every language

noun passenger vehicle

Español	automóvil, carro, coche, auto
한국어	자동차 jadongcha, 차 cha, 사륜차 saryuncha
日本語	自動車 jidōsha, 乗用車 jōyōsha, 四輪車 yonrinsha, 車 kuruma
中文	汽車 /汽车 qìchē, 車 /车 chē, 機動車 /机动车 jīdòngchē
हिन्दी	मोटरवाहन moṭarvāhan, गाड़ी gāṛī, कार kār, मोटर moṭar, मोटर-गाड़ी moṭar-gāṛī, मोटरगाड़ी moṭargāṛī
Kiswahili	motakari bus, motokari bus, motokaa, gari
Português	automóvel, carro, veículo, auto
Français	voiture, auto, automobile, char
Deutsch	Automobil, Auto, Kraftfahrzeug, Personenwagen, Kraftwagen, Personenkraftwagen
Italiano	automobile, auto, macchina, vettura, autovettura
Ελληνικά	αυτοκίνητο aftokínito
Română	automobil, mașină
Русский	автомоби́ль avtomobílʹ, автомаши́на avtomašína, маши́на mašína, авто́ avtó, та́чка táčka, мото́р motór
Tiếng Việt	xe hơi, ô tô, xe
العربية	سَيَّارَة sayyāra, أُوتُومُوبِيل ʔotōmōbīl, عَرَبِيَّة ʕarabiyya
עברית	מְכוֹנִית m'khonít

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Cite this

MLA

"automobile." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/automobile. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

automobile. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/automobile

Chicago

"automobile." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/automobile.

BibTeX

@misc{automobile_2026,
  title = {automobile},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/automobile},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}