atm

atm — noun

1. short for 'automated teller machine': a self-service device, often built into th

1.nounB1
Definition

short for 'automated teller machine': a self-service device, often built into the exterior wall of a bank branch, convenience store, or train station, that lets customers withdraw cash, check their account balance, or move money between accounts by inserting a bank card and typing a PIN.

Example

Sophie withdrew two thousand yen from the ATM near the train station.

withdraw [amount] from the ATM

The ATM at the corner shop charges a small fee for cash withdrawals.

the ATM charges a fee

Common collocations
  • ATM card
  • ATM fee
  • ATM withdrawal
  • nearest ATM
  • use an ATM
Synonyms
  • cash machine

    common British term for the same device

  • cashpoint

    British, often refers specifically to outdoor bank machines

  • bank machine

    Canadian usage, less common in the US/UK

Grammar Patterns

use an ATM

withdraw money from an ATM

Usage Note

Often written in capitals (ATM). 'ATM machine' is common in speech but technically redundant, since the M already stands for 'machine'; careful writing avoids it.

Common Mistakes

I need to go to the ATM machine.
I need to go to the ATM.
'ATM' already includes 'machine'; doubling is redundant in formal writing.
He took out money in the ATM.
He took out money from the ATM.
use 'from' for the source of the cash, not 'in'.

atm — abbreviation

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name the same device — a self-service machine that dispenses cash from a bank account — but they are split by region and register. 'ATM' is the dominant term in American English and is increasingly the global default in signage, banking apps, and tourism contexts; it is neutral and safe in formal writing. 'Cash machine' is the everyday British term, common in speech and on shop notices ('free cash machine inside'). 'Cashpoint' is also British but originated as a Lloyds Bank trademark and is now generic, often suggesting a standalone wall machine. 'Bank machine' is heard mostly in Canada. So a Londoner might say, 'I'll grab some money from the cashpoint,' while a New Yorker would say, 'Let me hit the ATM real quick.'

ATM ↗cash machinecashpoint ↗bank machine

Common collocations

Nouns

  • ATM card
  • ATM fee
  • ATM withdrawal
  • ATM network

Phrases

  • use an ATM
  • find the nearest ATM
  • the ATM is out of service

Prepositions

  • from an ATM
  • at the ATM
  • to the ATM

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

The noun 'ATM' is an initialism formed in the 1970s from 'automated teller machine', built on the older banking word 'teller' (a person who counts money or hands it out at a bank counter, recorded since the fifteenth century from the verb 'tell' in its old sense of 'count'). As self-service cash machines spread through the 1980s and 1990s, the three letters became a word in their own right. The unrelated chat abbreviation 'atm' for 'at the moment' grew up much later in 1990s internet messaging, alongside other lowercase initialisms like 'brb' and 'lol', and was popularised by SMS and instant-messaging culture.