automatic
See also: automàtic
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
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From French automatique, from Ancient Greek αὐτόματον (autómaton), neuter of αὐτόματος (autómatos, “self-moving, moving of oneself, self-acting, spontaneous”), from αὐτός (autós, “self, myself”) + μέμαα (mémaa, “to wish eagerly, strive, yearn, desire”).
Pronunciation
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Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ætɪk
Adjective
automatic (comparative more automatic, superlative most automatic) (superlative dubious)
- Capable of operating without external control or intervention.
- The automatic clothes washer was a great labor-saving device.
- Done out of habit or without conscious thought.
- The reaction was automatic: flight!
- Absent-minded doodling is a form of automatic art.
- (of a firearm such as a machine gun) Firing continuously as long as the trigger is pressed until ammunition is exhausted.
- Fully automatic weapons cannot be legally owned by private citizens in the US, except in very special circumstances, as by private security companies.
- (of a handgun) An autoloader; a semi-automatic or self-loading pistol, as opposed to a revolver or other manually actuated handgun, which fires one shot per pull of the trigger; distinct from machine guns.
- The US Army adopted John Browning's M1911 pistol as its sidearm, chambered in .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol).
- (computing, of a local variable) Automatically added to and removed from the stack during the course of function calls.
- (mathematics, of a group) Having one or more finite-state automata
Synonyms
- (without conscious thought): perfunctory, thoughtless, instinctive
Antonyms
Coordinate terms
- (of a firearm): semi-automatic, burst mode, selective action; bolt action, lever action, pump action (single-round per loading/chambering action)
Derived terms
Derived terms
Related terms
Related terms
Descendants
Translations
capable of operating without external control
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acting without conscious thought
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describing a firearm which fires continuously
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Noun
automatic (plural automatics)
- A car with automatic transmission.
- I never learned to drive a stick. I can only drive an automatic.
- A semi-automatic pistol.
- 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 9, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 262:
- 'The automatic under his pillow gave the lie to that statement.'
Antonyms
- (car with automatic transmission): stick, stickshift; manual transmission; standard transmission
Translations
A car with automatic transmission
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A semi-automatic pistol
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See also
(automotive):
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from French
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ætɪk
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Computing
- en:Mathematics
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations