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

The Colorado Department of Transportation‘s automated speed cameras on Interstate 25 north of Denver caught more than 4,129 drivers exceeding the limit during the first month of enforcement, netting fines at the rate of $12,387 a day — revenue used to expand the system. —Bruce Finley, Denver Post, 1 May 2026

Recently, Neuralink introduced a specialized surgical robot designed to automate the implantation of its brain-computer interfaces. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Apr. 2026

At Davos, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott promised not to lay off employees even as his 30,000-employee company adopts Agentic AI and automates certain functions. —Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026

That’s how much time teachers are saving with MagicSchoolAI, according to the company, an edtech platform that automates lesson planning, grading, and dozens of other administrative tasks that keep teachers working long after the last bell. —Time Contributors, Time, 29 Apr. 2026

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

Rhymes for automate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

Kids Definition

automate

verb

au·​to·​mate ˈȯt-ə-ˌmāt 

automated; automating

1

: to operate by automation

2

: to convert to mainly automatic operation