auto

1 of 3

noun

au·​to ˈȯ-(ˌ)tō How to pronounce auto (audio)
ˈä-
plural autos

auto

2 of 3

adjective

auto-

3 of 3

combining form

variants or before a vowel aut-
1
: self : same one
autobiography
autosuggestion
2
: automatic : self-acting
autopilot

Examples of auto in a Sentence

Noun the auto gave people a level of mobility that they had never known before
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
To develop a new vehicle usually takes three to five years, but the first Jeep prototype was developed in 18 hours by Karl Probst, working for Bantam as a freelance auto designer from Detroit. David Krumboltz, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024 Musk has been trying to drive up sales in China, the world’s largest auto market, by cutting prices and offering new incentives in the price war against rivals like BYD, which is backed by Warren Buffett. Quartz Staff, Quartz, 17 Mar. 2024 Bottom line Yes, California’s home sales last year suffered from few owners willing to sell as auto dealers had their first decent inventory since the coronavirus broke the supply chain. Jonathan Lansner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024 The Biden administration restored the state’s authority to set its own tailpipe pollution standards for cars in 2022 after former President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke California’s authority to set its own limits on auto emissions. Sophie Austin, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024 Critical shortages of computer chips during the pandemic hobbled U.S. auto manufacturing and drove up car prices, underscoring the need to bolster domestic suppliers. Jeanne Whalen, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024 Bentley, like the rest of the auto industry, is tapping the brakes on its plans for EVs despite this strong performance. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 19 Mar. 2024 The Volkswagen plant announced an 11 percent pay increase shortly after the strikes at the Big Three, bringing the top hourly wage for production workers to $32.40. Nonunion auto plants generally start new workers at less than $20 an hour and pay a top wage under $30 an hour. Neal E. Boudette, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Continue reading … ‘LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING’ – Biden campaign slams Trump over ‘political violence’ for warning of ‘bloodbath’ when discussing auto industry. Fox News, 18 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The election is a result of the agreement reached between the federal government and the union following the fallout from the long-running corruption scandal that sent former union officials and ex-auto executives to prison for misusing worker training funds, among other misdeeds. Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 28 Feb. 2023 So which makes the best semi-auto shotgun? Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 25 Jan. 2021 One of the few semi-auto 17 WSM rifles is the Franklin armory F17-L. Richard Mann, Outdoor Life, 27 Feb. 2023 Also: a slick semi-auto espresso machine for $4,700 and a large neon sign depicting the blue Twitter bird logo — yours for about $23,000. Adela Suliman, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Jan. 2023 Also: a slick semi-auto espresso machine for $4,700, and a large neon electrical sign depicting the ubiquitous blue Twitter bird logo — yours for about $23,000. Adela Suliman, Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2023 The Mark IV solved the biggest issue many shooters had with Ruger’s classic Mark II semi-auto, with its one-button takedown system. Will Brantley, Field & Stream, 18 Sep. 2020 He also is suspected of firing a gun in New Britain — again, no one was hurt — and three times fleeing police who were on a special anti-auto theft detail in Newington. Christine Dempsey, courant.com, 11 Jan. 2022 The man also described the gun that was pointed at him as a dull silver semi-auto, possibly a Sig-Sauer brand gun, documents say. oregonlive, 28 Oct. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'auto.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

by shortening

Adjective

by shortening

Combining form

borrowed from Greek, combining form of autós "self, the same" (also as third person pronoun), of uncertain origin

Note: For autós R. Beekes posits as the Indo-European forerunner *h2eu̯- "again" + *to- "that" (see that entry 1); *h2eu̯- alone is the source of Greek "again, another time, in turn, next" (Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009). G.E. Dunkel, who accepts Indo-European *a as a vowel and does not believe that all words must begin with a consonant, subsumes the first element of autós under *au̯- "away, off" (*au̯-tó- would hence originally have been a deictic, "the one over there") and subsumes Greek under *h2u-, by-form of *h2o- "with it, at it, and, also" (Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme, Heidelberg, 2014). Older etymological proposals (as a link between au- in autós and Sanskrit ásuḥ "life") are summarized by E. Schwyzer in Griechische Grammatik (Munich, 1990 [1938]), pp. 613-14.

First Known Use

Noun

1899, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1876, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of auto was in 1876

Dictionary Entries Near auto

Cite this Entry

“Auto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auto. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

auto

1 of 2 noun
au·​to
ˈȯt-ō,
ˈät-
plural autos

auto-

2 of 2
see aut-

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