auto

1 of 3

noun

au·​to ˈȯ-(ˌ)tō How to pronounce auto (audio)
ˈä-
plural autos

auto

2 of 3

adjective

auto-

3 of 3

combining form

variants or before a vowel aut-
1
: self : same one
autobiography
autosuggestion
2
: automatic : self-acting
autopilot

Examples of auto in a Sentence

Noun the auto gave people a level of mobility that they had never known before
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
General Motors is upgrading its Charlotte auto parts distribution center with an investment of $23 million to improve workplace safety and technology, the company announced. Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 5 Mar. 2024 The city will in coming months start soliciting proposals for redeveloping the post-demolition Packard Plant site, Duggan said, presumably for auto supplier operations, given its proximity to General Motors' Factory Zero and the Stellantis Jefferson North Assembly Plant. Detroit Free Press, 4 Mar. 2024 The Big 12, which is adding the Buffs this summer, and ACC would be granted two auto bids each. Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2024 About 381,000 Toyota Tacoma trucks are being recalled by the Japanese auto manufacturer due to issues with bolts on the vehicles’ rear axle. David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2024 Climate Change And Renewable Energy With solar and wind now cheaper than fossil fuels, clean energy has been promising to rewire business infrastructure and, in coming years, majorly disrupt industries like pharma, hospitality, auto and farming, among many others. Anna C Mallon, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 The violence, which also targeted police facilities and an auto dealership housing the Jamaican consulate, started early in the morning with an armed gang knocking down the perimeter wall of the Haiti National Police Academy not far from the U.S. embassy in metropolitan Port-au-Prince. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024 Officers have returned the wallet to the man, and booked Lawson into the Santa Clara County Jail on charges of auto burglary, a felony, and possession of burglary tools, a misdemeanor. Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024 Indeed there are only between 30 and 32 models offered with manual transmissions, according to Brian Moody, executive editor of popular auto research and buying sites Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader. Ed Garsten, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
Adjective
The election is a result of the agreement reached between the federal government and the union following the fallout from the long-running corruption scandal that sent former union officials and ex-auto executives to prison for misusing worker training funds, among other misdeeds. Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 28 Feb. 2023 So which makes the best semi-auto shotgun? Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 25 Jan. 2021 One of the few semi-auto 17 WSM rifles is the Franklin armory F17-L. Richard Mann, Outdoor Life, 27 Feb. 2023 Also: a slick semi-auto espresso machine for $4,700 and a large neon sign depicting the blue Twitter bird logo — yours for about $23,000. Adela Suliman, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Jan. 2023 Also: a slick semi-auto espresso machine for $4,700, and a large neon electrical sign depicting the ubiquitous blue Twitter bird logo — yours for about $23,000. Adela Suliman, Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2023 The Mark IV solved the biggest issue many shooters had with Ruger’s classic Mark II semi-auto, with its one-button takedown system. Will Brantley, Field & Stream, 18 Sep. 2020 He also is suspected of firing a gun in New Britain — again, no one was hurt — and three times fleeing police who were on a special anti-auto theft detail in Newington. Christine Dempsey, courant.com, 11 Jan. 2022 The man also described the gun that was pointed at him as a dull silver semi-auto, possibly a Sig-Sauer brand gun, documents say. oregonlive, 28 Oct. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'auto.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

by shortening

Adjective

by shortening

Combining form

borrowed from Greek, combining form of autós "self, the same" (also as third person pronoun), of uncertain origin

Note: For autós R. Beekes posits as the Indo-European forerunner *h2eu̯- "again" + *to- "that" (see that entry 1); *h2eu̯- alone is the source of Greek "again, another time, in turn, next" (Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009). G.E. Dunkel, who accepts Indo-European *a as a vowel and does not believe that all words must begin with a consonant, subsumes the first element of autós under *au̯- "away, off" (*au̯-tó- would hence originally have been a deictic, "the one over there") and subsumes Greek under *h2u-, by-form of *h2o- "with it, at it, and, also" (Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme, Heidelberg, 2014). Older etymological proposals (as a link between au- in autós and Sanskrit ásuḥ "life") are summarized by E. Schwyzer in Griechische Grammatik (Munich, 1990 [1938]), pp. 613-14.

First Known Use

Noun

1899, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1876, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of auto was in 1876

Dictionary Entries Near auto

Cite this Entry

“Auto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auto. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

auto

1 of 2 noun
au·​to
ˈȯt-ō,
ˈät-
plural autos

auto-

2 of 2
see aut-

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