automatic — English Dictionary

Adjective

1. Capable of operating without external control or intervention.

   Synonyms

   self-operating

   Antonyms

   manualnon-automatic

   Examples

   The automatic clothes washer was a great labor-saving device.

   More examples (1)

   "But you know of the automatic card-player?" […] Carrados had heard more than once casual allusions to a wonderful mechanical contrivance that played cards with discrimination.

2. Done out of habit or without conscious thought.

   Synonyms

   instinctiveperfunctorythoughtlessPavlovian

   Antonyms

   voluntary

   Examples

   The reaction was automatic: flight!

   Absent-minded doodling is a form of automatic art.

   More examples (1)

   "I don't know why! Sometimes I feel like a girl! Sometimes a guy! I don't know why I feel that way! I just do! Always have! I can't remember not feeling this way! How do you explain something as natural and automatic to you as breathing?!"

3. Necessary, inevitable, prescribed by logic, law, etc.

   Examples

   Spitting at another player means an automatic red card.

4. Firing continuously as long as the trigger is pressed until ammunition is exhausted.

   Usage

   • of a firearm such as a machine gun

   Examples

   Fully automatic weapons cannot be legally owned by private citizens in the US, except in very special circumstances, as by private security companies.

5. 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.

   Usage

   • of a handgun

   Examples

   The US Army adopted John Browning's M1911 pistol as its sidearm, chambered in .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol).

   From a little hand-bag he extracted his automatic pistol, which he put upon the mantelpiece.

6. Automatically added to and removed from the stack during the course of function calls.

   Usage

   • of a local variable

   Examples

   Automatic variables are created on the stack. They are valid only from the point where they are declared to the end of the function.

7. Having one or more finite-state automata.

   Usage

   • of a group

Noun

1. A car with an automatic transmission; the transmission itself.

   Antonyms

   manualmanual transmissionstandard transmissionstickstickshiftstick shift

   Examples

   I never learned to drive a stick. I can only drive an automatic.

2. A semi-automatic pistol.

   Examples

   The G-men raiding the speakeasy were equipped with .45 automatics, while the local policemen were carrying revolvers and shotguns.

   "I told him that if my automatic was not a spook-stopper, nothin' else would serve."

   More examples (1)

   'The automatic under his pillow gave the lie to that statement.'

Adjective

1. operating with minimal human intervention; independent of external control

   Antonyms

   manual

   Examples

   automatic transmission

   a budget deficit that caused automatic spending cuts

2. resembling the unthinking functioning of a machine

   Synonyms

   automatonlikemachinelikerobotlikerobotic

   Examples

   an automatic ‘thank you’

   machinelike efficiency

3. without volition or conscious control

   Synonyms

   reflexreflexive

   Examples

   the automatic shrinking of the pupils of the eye in strong light

   a reflex knee jerk

   More examples (1)

   sneezing is reflexive

Noun

1. self-loading rifle capable of automatic fire

   Synonyms

   automatic riflemachine rifle

   Broader terms

   machine gunrifle

2. a pistol that will keep firing until the ammunition is gone or the trigger is released

   Synonyms

   automatic pistol

   Broader terms

   pistolhandgunside armshooting ironautomatic firearmautomatic gunautomatic weapon