automatic

automatic — adjective

1. Used to describe a machine, door, or system that runs by itself, so a person doe

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

Used to describe a machine, door, or system that runs by itself, so a person does not have to start each step or push buttons all the time.

Example

The supermarket has automatic doors that slide open as Dilnoza walks toward them.

automatic + noun (door)

Eitan's new washing machine is fully automatic, so he just chooses a program and presses start.

fully automatic

Common collocations
  • automatic door
  • automatic washing machine
  • fully automatic
  • automatic system
Synonyms
  • self-operating

    more technical; common in product descriptions

  • mechanized

    stresses that a task once done by hand is now done by machines

  • self-acting

    formal, often in engineering contexts

Antonyms
  • manual

    the most common opposite — needs a person to operate it

Grammar Patterns

automatic + noun (machine, door, system)

Usage Note

Almost always sits before a noun (attributive). When the subject is the device itself, prefer 'is automatic' rather than describing the action.

Common Mistakes

The door opens automatic.
The door opens automatically.
use the adverb 'automatically' to modify a verb; 'automatic' only modifies a noun.

2. Used only of a car, gearbox, or transmission whose gears shift by themselves whi

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

Used only of a car, gearbox, or transmission whose gears shift by themselves while you drive, so you never push a clutch pedal or move a gear stick. Unlike sense 1 (any self-running machine), this sense is restricted to vehicles and is the everyday opposite of 'manual'.

Example

Mateo passed his driving test in an automatic car last summer.

automatic car

Most rental cars at Los Angeles airport come with an automatic gearbox as standard.

automatic gearbox

Common collocations
  • automatic car
  • automatic gearbox
  • automatic transmission
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • manual

    the driver changes gears with a clutch and gear stick

Grammar Patterns

automatic + noun (car, gearbox, transmission)

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1 (any self-operating device): this sense is restricted to vehicles, gearboxes, and transmissions. Often contrasted with 'manual'.

Common Mistakes

I drive an automatic gear.
I drive an automatic car.' or 'My car has an automatic gearbox.
'gear' alone does not collocate; use 'gearbox' or 'transmission'.

3. If a reaction or movement is automatic, you do it instantly without choosing to

3.adjectiveC1
Definition

If a reaction or movement is automatic, you do it instantly without choosing to or even noticing, often because of habit, training, or a body reflex.

Example

When Hannah saw her niece grin in the stroller, smiling back was almost automatic.

almost automatic

After ten years driving a taxi in Taipei, checking the side mirror has become automatic for Zane.

become automatic

Common collocations
  • automatic response
  • automatic reaction
  • almost automatic
  • become automatic
Synonyms
  • instinctive

    felt deep inside, with no thought needed

  • involuntary

    stresses that you cannot stop the action, often a body reflex

  • reflex

    very fast, body-driven; usually about a physical reaction

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

automatic + noun (response, reaction, reflex)

Usage Note

Frequently negative in tone when describing speech or emotion (e.g. an 'automatic apology' suggests it is empty). Distinguish from sense 1 (a machine): here the subject is a person's action, reaction, or feeling.

Common Mistakes

I gave an automatic to her question.
I gave an automatic answer to her question.
'automatic' is an adjective and needs a noun after it.

4. An automatic result, right, or punishment is one that always follows when a cert

4.adjectiveC1
Definition

An automatic result, right, or punishment is one that always follows when a certain rule applies, with no extra decision or special request needed.

Example

Gold members of the jazz club get an automatic 20% discount on every concert ticket.

automatic + noun (discount)

In Singapore, driving without a licence carries an automatic fine of two thousand dollars.

automatic fine / penalty

Common collocations
  • automatic right
  • automatic fine
  • automatic qualification
  • automatic increase
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

automatic + noun (right, entitlement, increase)

Usage Note

The result must follow strictly from a rule, contract, or normal procedure — not from luck or from someone choosing to grant it. Common with words like right, fine, place, increase, qualification.

Common Mistakes

It is automatic that the manager will promote her.
Her promotion is automatic under the new contract.
use 'automatic' for outcomes set by a rule, not for what you guess will happen.

5. Used only of guns: one squeeze of the trigger releases a continuous stream of bu

5.adjectiveC1
Definition

Used only of guns: one squeeze of the trigger releases a continuous stream of bullets until the shooter lets go or the magazine empties. Unlike sense 1 (any self-running device), this sense is restricted to firearms and contrasts with semi-automatic (one bullet per trigger pull) and single-shot weapons.

Example

Soldiers were carrying automatic rifles as they walked through the village.

automatic rifle

In Japan, owning an automatic weapon at home can lead to several years in prison.

automatic weapon

Common collocations
  • automatic rifle
  • automatic weapon
  • automatic pistol
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

automatic + noun (rifle, weapon, pistol)

Usage Note

Used with 'rifle', 'weapon', 'pistol', 'gun'. The related noun (sense noun/2) refers to the gun itself.

automatic — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four describe machines or processes that run with little or no human input, but the focus differs. 'Automatic' is the everyday word and works for any device that performs its job once switched on, from doors to coffee makers. 'Automated' usually points to a whole process or production line that has been changed from being done by people to being run by machines and computers — 'an automated factory' implies the change, not just the result. 'Mechanical' simply means worked by a machine and can sound cold or routine when used about people, as in 'a mechanical smile'. 'Self-operating' is more technical and is most often seen in product descriptions or engineering writing. So we say 'automatic doors' in daily speech, but 'an automated assembly line' in a business report.

automatic ↗mechanical ↗automatedself-operating

Common collocations

Nouns

  • automatic door
  • automatic system
  • automatic response
  • automatic right
  • automatic car
  • automatic weapon

Adverbs

  • fully automatic
  • almost automatic
  • highly automatic

Phrases

  • become automatic
  • be entirely automatic

Prepositions

  • automatic for (someone)

Etymology

GreekFrenchEnglish

Borrowed in the late 1700s from the Greek word 'automatos', meaning 'acting of itself', built from 'auto-' (self) plus a root tied to 'thinking' or 'eager'. It first reached English through scientific and mechanical writing about machines that could move or work without a person guiding each step. Later it spread to body reactions (something done without thought) and to outcomes that follow a fixed rule.