automatic
/ɔːtəˈmatɪk
/adjective
1(Of a device or process) working by itself with little or no direct human control: an automatic kettle that switches itself off when it boils calibration is fully automatic...
- Many renovated and new restrooms are including automatic sensors to control faucets and toilets.
- Now incorporating automatic light beam control, the car will automatically activate its lights when it becomes dark.
- A mechanical arm turns pages every couple of seconds while an automatic machine translator wired to this device bangs out English text.
Synonyms
mechanized, mechanical, automated, push-button, preprogrammed, computerized, electronic, robotic, unmanned;
self-activating, self-regulating, self-directing, self-executing
1.1(Of a firearm) self-loading and able to fire continuously until the ammunition is exhausted or the pressure on the trigger is released: automatic weapons...
- We have come under automatic machine-gun fire.
- A rifle and two automatic firearms were confiscated.
- He had tried to talk her into bringing an automatic firearm, as the assault would be a heavy one, but she was stubborn, and insisted that the knives would suit her fine.
1.2(Of a motor vehicle or its transmission) using gears that change by themselves according to speed and acceleration: a four-speed automatic gearbox...
- These engines are mated to either a six-speed manual gearbox or a five-speed automatic transmission.
- This car is fun to drive on twisting country roads, thanks to a well-programmed 6 speed automatic gearbox with a tiptronic option.
- The engine is combined with a new 6-speed automatic gearbox which gives excellent quality gear changes.
2Done or occurring spontaneously, without conscious thought or attention: automatic physical functions such as breathing ‘Nice to meet you,’ he said, with automatic politeness...
- Thinking, memory and attitude operate on two levels: the conscious/deliberate and the unconscious / automatic.
- Finally, termination is present when the new behavior has become rather automatic and requires no conscious effort.
- Sometimes, these beliefs are so quick and reflexive that they're automatic, but they still shape our behavior.
Synonyms
instinctive, involuntary, unconscious, reflex, knee-jerk, reflexive, instinctual, subconscious, unconditioned;
spontaneous, impulsive, unthinking, unpremeditated, unintentional, unintended, unbidden, unwitting, inadvertent;
mechanical;
habitual
informal gut
2.1Done or occurring as a matter of course and without debate: he is the automatic choice for the senior team...
- If this player was always an automatic choice, the omission of some members of the victorious Scottish team in the European Team Championships has raised a few eyebrows.
- They would have been automatic first team choices, but instead they remain sidelined for the remainder of the year as they recover from their respective injuries.
- The other side of the coin is that he has had to leave out players who were once automatic choices, and it's not a task he enjoys.
2.2(Especially of a legal sanction) given or imposed as a necessary and inevitable result of a fixed rule or particular set of circumstances: he received an automatic one-match suspension...
- The President would not be required to impose automatic sanctions but would have a waiver power.
- Failure to produce a licence when stopped by the police will result in the automatic punishment of one penalty point.
- He or she is compelled to make an application to resist or to avoid automatic suspension under the rule.
Synonyms
inevitable, unavoidable, inescapable, unpreventable, necessary, ineluctable;
certain, definite, undoubted, assured, obvious;
mandatory, compulsory
noun
1A gun that continues firing until the ammunition is exhausted or the pressure on the trigger is released: the rapid fire of automatics...
- The incessant firings from cannons, mortars, tanks, machine-guns and automatics continue throughout the night.
- It became the best-known automatic or ‘assault rifle’ in the world.
- Make the manufacture of handguns, automatics and certain semiautomatics and their corresponding ammunition illegal.
2A vehicle with automatic transmission: a Mercedes 300SL five-speed automatic...
- Must they be required by law only to drive automatics?
- I prefer the control that manual gears give, and I've always had a bit of a problem with phantom-clutch foot when driving an automatic.
- One day, one day, they will be too old to drive it, they will want an automatic with airbags and ABS and cruise control.
Derivatives
automaticity
- Stolz's research looks into the cognitive processes that control attention and automaticity.
- These children are able to produce legible handwriting but they do not achieve automaticity of handwriting.
- The left hemisphere gets involved when stimuli and patterns are familiar and serves to establish automaticity of the task.
Origin
Mid 18th century: from Greek automatos 'acting of itself' (see automaton) + -ic.