automation

noun

au·​to·​ma·​tion ˌȯ-tə-ˈmā-shən 

1

: the technique of making an apparatus, a process, or a system operate automatically

2

: the state of being operated automatically

3

: automatically controlled operation of an apparatus, process, or system by mechanical or electronic devices that take the place of human labor

Synonyms of automation

• mechanization

Examples of automation in a Sentence

feared that automation would add millions to the ranks of the unemployed

Recent Examples on the Web

However, some who have been outspoken on automation were met with public backlash. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 26 May 2026

Don’t replace creativity with automation. —Tavares Beverly, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026

Even as automation and AI have entered the enterprise stack, finance teams still rely on a web of disconnected tools, such as general ledgers, spreadsheets, payroll systems, and outsourced services, that often create more complexity than clarity. —Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 21 May 2026

There is still a widespread perception that automation will primarily affect manufacturing or low-wage jobs. —Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 20 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

perhaps blend of automatic entry 1 and operation

Note: The coinage of this word has been attributed to the Ford Motor Company executive Delmar S. Harder (1892-1973), who in the period 1947-48 was a vice president of manufacturing. In the third volume of a history of Ford by Allan Nevins and Frank Ernest Hill (Ford: Decline and Rebirth, 1933-1962 [New York, 1963], p. 354), the following account is given: "At a staff meeting in 1947 Harder suggested a new department to study the efficient handling of materials …Harder groped for a name; 'the Automated Handling Department,' he suggested, then, 'better still, the Automation Department.' This seems to have been the first significant appearance of the word. Later, Harder dated its use back to 1936, when he was at Grand Rapids with General Motors. By the diligent efforts of Ford publicity men, and his own impressive accomplishments, Harder came to be known as 'the father of automation.' John Diebold of the Harvard Business School also claims to have invented the word 'automation,' but seems to have done so, according to the Ford version, a few days later than Harder's use in 1947." Unfortunately, Nevins and Hill give no exact source for this story, though, according to a later endnote, Harder was interviewed by them on November 12, 1959. An early printed instance of automation is in an article in the trade journal American Machinist ("Ford Handles by Automation," by Rupert Le Grand, vol. 92, no. 22 [October 21, 1948], pp. 107-22). It is not certain that John Diebold, an early writer on automation, ever claimed to have coined the word; at any rate, in 1947, when the Automation Department was formed at Ford, Diebold, who was born in 1926, was an undergraduate at Swarthmore and unlikely to have been in a position to introduce the word. See also the note at automate.

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for automation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

automation

noun

au·​to·​ma·​tion ˌȯt-ə-ˈmā-shən 

1

: the method of making a device, a process, or a system operate by itself

2

: automatic operation of a device, process, or system by mechanical or electronic devices that replace human operators