automatic
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Operating with minimal human intervention.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
awtuhmatikSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɔtəˈmætɪk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Operating with minimal human intervention; independent of external control
Capable of operating without external control or intervention.
Done out of habit or without conscious thought.
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.
of a firearm such as a machine gun
Firing continuously as long as the trigger is pressed until ammunition is exhausted.
noun
A car with an automatic transmission; the transmission itself.
A semi-automatic pistol.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Operating with minimal human intervention; independent of external control
Used this way, automatic is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use automatic
- “Automatic transmission.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A system of one or more computers and associated software with common storage.
A transmission that automatically changes the gears according to the speed of the car.
Biometric identification by scanning a person's face and matching it against a library of known faces.
A firearm that reloads itself and keeps firing until the trigger is released.
A firearm that reloads itself and keeps firing until the trigger is released.
A cognitive state in which you act without self-awareness.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Make automatic or control or operate automatically.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: car with an automatic transmission
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.