automatic

adjective

au·to·mat·ic | \ˌȯ-tə-ˈma-tik

Definition of automatic

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : largely or wholly involuntary especially : reflex sense 5 automatic blinking of the eyelids

b : acting or done spontaneously or unconsciously the automatic applause of the audience

c : done or produced as if by machine : mechanical the answers were automatic

2 : having a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism an automatic transmission

3 of a firearm : firing repeatedly until the trigger is released

automatic

noun

Definition of automatic (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a machine or apparatus that operates automatically especially : an automatic firearm

2a : an automatic transmission a car with a three-speed automatic

b : an automobile with an automatic transmission Is your car an automatic or a manual?

3 American football : audible

Other Words from automatic Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about automatic

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Other Words from automatic

Adjective

automatically \ -ti-k(ə-)lē

\ adverb

automaticity \ -mə-ˈti-sə-tē ,

-ma- \ noun

Choose the Right Synonym for automatic

Adjective

spontaneous, impulsive, instinctive, automatic, mechanical mean acting or activated without deliberation. spontaneous implies lack of prompting and connotes naturalness. a spontaneous burst of applause impulsive implies acting under stress of emotion or spirit of the moment. impulsive acts of violence instinctive stresses action involving neither judgment nor will. blinking is an instinctive reaction automatic implies action engaging neither the mind nor the emotions and connotes a predictable response. his denial was automatic mechanical stresses the lifeless, often perfunctory character of the response. a mechanical teaching method

Examples of automatic in a Sentence

Adjective

Without thinking, he gave an automatic reply. She always has an automatic smile for everyone.

Noun

Will your next car be a manual or an automatic?

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

An alternative to automatic voter registration, the organization said, is same-day voter registration. — Anthony Man, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Florida could make it much easier for more than half a million people to vote," 11 July 2018 Voter suppression in New York should have ended eight years ago, from the rights of parolees to access to early voting and automatic registration. — Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Fox News, "'Sex and the City' star Cynthia Nixon could be New York's next governor: A look at her political activism," 7 June 2018 That form of automatic voter registration took effect in January 2016 and prompted a 14 percent jump in voter registration, which may play a part in this year's lower percentage turnout. — Corlyn Voorhees, OregonLive.com, "Primary ballot totals suggest lowest voter turnout in at least 16 years," 15 May 2018 Last year, Oregon was the first state in the country to institute automatic voter registration through its DMVs, seeing a swell in voter turn out as a result. — Luke Darby, GQ, "The Head of Trump's Voter Fraud Commission Just Showed How Low He'd Go to Keep Citizens from Voting," 19 Apr. 2018 Oregon was the first state to enact automatic voter registration, in 2016. — Caitlin Wolper, Teen Vogue, "New Jersey Has Adopted Automatic Voter Registration," 18 Apr. 2018 Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon and Joey Logano were the only other automatic playoff qualifiers because of victories. — John Smallwood, Philly.com, "NASCAR's Monster Energy regular season enters homestretch," 11 July 2018 Police in Houston say a two-year-old fatally shot himself Sunday afternoon after finding an unsecured 9mm semi-automatic pistol in a living room couch. — Crimesider Staff, CBS News, "3 children dead, 1 critically wounded in separate weekend gun accidents nationwide," 9 July 2018 Both men had black semi-automatic firearms and had black cloth covering their faces, Moore said. — Raisa Habersham, ajc, "Masked men assault adult entertainment store employees, cops say," 9 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

In 2006, 47 percent of new models in the U.S. were offered with automatics and manuals. — Robert Duffer, chicagotribune.com, "The shift is on: Manual transmissions may be endangered but they're also beloved," 11 July 2018 Modern automatics are quicker, more efficient, much easier to operate, and better than most drivers. — Robert Duffer, chicagotribune.com, "The shift is on: Manual transmissions may be endangered but they're also beloved," 11 July 2018 Even so, my recent purchases have been high-performance cars with automatics. — Bob Weber, chicagotribune.com, "Car wash may have jarred traction control sensor wire loose," 1 Apr. 2018 And the weapon arsenal is pretty much identical to other battle royale shooters: submachine guns, pistols, shotguns, semi-automatics, and sniper rifles. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "CliffyB’s Radical Heights is a new low for cashing in on the PUBG craze," 10 Apr. 2018 The gunman still may have carried out the shooting without bump stocks, but the devices at least made the shooting much deadlier — by turning his semiautomatic weapons into guns that closely simulated automatics. — German Lopez, Vox, "Trump administration moves to ban bump stocks," 23 Mar. 2018 Examples of semi-automatics include the AR-15 and Browning BAR rifles. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "What a Gun Is," 7 Mar. 2018 Semiautomatics can be turned into automatics with bump cartridges. — Guest Columnist/cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "The elephants in the room point to need for gun regulation: Ann Marie Falcone (Opinion)," 4 Feb. 2018 People debate over which types of guns should be legal to buy and own: automatics, semiautomatics, rifles, handguns and variants of any or all of them. — Guest Columnist/cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "The elephants in the room point to need for gun regulation: Ann Marie Falcone (Opinion)," 4 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'automatic.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near automatic

automated

automated teller

automated teller machine

automatic

automatic block signal

automatic coverage

automatic currency

Statistics for automatic

Last Updated

2 Nov 2018

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for automatic

The first known use of automatic was in 1686

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More Definitions for automatic

automatic

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of automatic

(Entry 1 of 2)

of a machine or device : having controls that allow something to work or happen without being directly controlled by a person

of a gun : shooting many bullets very quickly when the trigger is pulled

: happening or done without deliberate thought or effort

automatic

noun

English Language Learners Definition of automatic (Entry 2 of 2)

: a gun that shoots many bullets very quickly : an automatic weapon

: a vehicle that changes gears by itself at different speeds : a car with automatic transmission

See the full definition for automatic in the English Language Learners Dictionary

automatic

adjective

au·to·mat·ic | \ˌȯ-tə-ˈma-tik

Kids Definition of automatic

1 : involuntary automatic blinking of eyelids

2 : being a machine or device that allows something to work without being directly controlled by a person an automatic washer

automatic

adjective

au·to·mat·ic

Legal Definition of automatic

: happening or existing through the operation of a preexisting arrangement that is triggered by some event specifically : happening or existing through the operation of law automatic reversal an automatic appeal