automate

verb

au·​to·​mate ˈȯ-tə-ˌmāt 

automated; automating

transitive verb

1

: to operate by automation

2

: to convert to largely automatic operation

automate a process

intransitive verb

: to undergo automation

automatable

ˈȯ-tə-ˌmā-tə-bəl 

adjective

Examples of automate in a Sentence

The company recently automated its filing process.

a factory that has yet to be automated

a factory that has yet to automate

When companies automate, employees lose jobs.

Recent Examples on the Web

However, staff reductions loom for some, as institutions streamline operations by consolidating branches or automating routine tasks. —Paul Davis, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025

Some of that engagement no doubt comes from spam bots, which are automated to like, share, and comment on posts in order to drive interactions. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 30 Dec. 2024

As of 2024, nearly two-thirds of organizations are using gen AI for tasks like automating customer service, analyzing data and streamlining operations — double the adoption rate from 2023, according to a global survey by consulting firm McKinsey. —Mike Winters, CNBC, 30 Dec. 2024

While uncertainty remains about how fast and how far into workplaces generative A.I. will reach, a series of studies have concluded that the impact is likely to be substantial, perhaps automating the equivalent of millions of jobs. —Steve Lohr, New York Times, 26 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from automation

Note: The formation of automation from automatic entry 1 (or automaton) is idiosyncratic. The -at- of automatic is blended with the suffix -ation, resulting in a word that is no longer divisible into base and suffix. The element -at- mimics, as it were, the -at- of -ate entry 4 and -ation, though in origin it has no relation to it. Another approach to this curious derivation might be to take it as a blend of automatic and operation, though there is no evidence that the coiner had this in mind. A more regular way to derive a verb from automatic would be automatize, and in fact such a word is attested (see automatize, but with a different sense), along with a corresponding noun automatization. In a discussion on automation with the editors of the Atlantic Monthly the mathematician Norbert wiener was said to take "a firm stand on nomenclature": "'Automation,' he says, is barbarous; let it be 'automatization' or nothing" ("Science and Industry," Atlantic Monthly, vol. 195, no. 6 [June, 1955], p. 14). See also the note at automation.

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

automate

verb

au·​to·​mate ˈȯt-ə-ˌmāt 

automated; automating

1

: to operate by automation

2

: to convert to mainly automatic operation