automatic
adjective
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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
nounDefinition 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
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Other words from automatic
Adjective
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adverb
-ma-
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noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for automatic
Synonyms: Adjective
instinctive, instinctual, involuntary, knee-jerk, mechanic, mechanical, robotic, spontaneous
Antonyms: Adjective
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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
Even then, the changes aren't automatic: parents would need to update their payments through a county child support enforcement agency or court. — Jessie Balmert, Cincinnati.com, "Changes are coming to child support in Ohio. What it means for your payments.," 2 July 2018 Fair share payers are not union members, so the change will be automatic for them. — Adam Ashton, sacbee, "Court case will cost California unions big money immediately. Then the real fight begins.," 28 June 2018 Other protesters raised concerns about Kavanaugh’s belief that semi-automatic rifles are constitutionally protected. — Alison Kuznitz, courant.com, "Abortion, Women's Rights Activists Rally In New Haven Against Supreme Court Nominee," 10 July 2018 But the legislature rejected one of the students' chief demands: an outright ban on semi-automatic assault-style rifles. — Houston Chronicle, "Letters to the Editor: week of June 9-15," 9 June 2018 He was charged with possessing a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle on educational property, the station reported. — Mark Price, charlotteobserver, "An NC teen planned to stop a school shooter. He got arrested instead.," 31 May 2018 One viral video showed a woman, said to be Mr Paddar’s mother, standing on a rooftop before a chanting crowd and firing an automatic rifle in a gesture of defiance. — The Economist, "India’s victories against militants in Kashmir are largely pyrrhic," 12 May 2018 He is handed an automatic rifle and kills the choir members, blood splashing the wall behind them.. — Lisa Gutierrez, kansascity, "Here's what you missed in Childish Gambino's 'This is America' video | The Kansas City Star," 7 May 2018 Nikolas Cruz’s Instagram account name was nikolascruzmakarov, a reference to the Russian Makarov semi-automatic pistol. — Skyler Swisher, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Parkland shooter sent himself text messages about desire to 'shoot everybody,' brother says," 11 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
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 So many of Porsche’s competitors limit their customers to technically superior (but decidedly less fun) dual-clutch automatics. — Daniel Bentley, Fortune, "Porsche 911 Carrera GTS: Balanced, Bracing, and the Best Driving Experience Under $150,000," 24 Jan. 2018These 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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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
nounEnglish 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
\
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
adjectiveLegal 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
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Comments on automatic
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