Also called: vending machine. a machine that automatically dispenses goods, such as cigarettes, when money is inserted
an area or room, sometimes having restaurant facilities, where food and other goods are supplied from vending machines
An automat is a food-dispensing machine or a restaurant with many such machines. If you prefer getting your take-out without speaking to another human being, an automat is the place to go. The word automat has the same beginning as automatic, meaning "operating with minimal human intervention." Automats were quite popular in the early- to mid-1900s. These restaurants had fresh food selections, usually made on-site and displayed in glass compartments. Diners dropped a coin into a slot beside their chosen dish, turned a knob, and then lifted the glass door to take their food. The original term was automated cafeteria.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Apart from the tellingly-named ghost kitchens, fast-food companies, the successors of the original Automat, seem eager to find out.
From Salon • Jan. 22, 2024
This story has been updated to reflect the closure of Automat Kitchen in Jersey City.
From Washington Post • Apr. 8, 2022
Automat Kitchen’s original opening date was postponed from April 2020 because of the pandemic, and many office workers in the building where it is located still have not returned.
From Washington Post • Apr. 8, 2022
The superfan Mel Brooks sings a tribute to the Automat, with a 26-piece orchestra.
From New York Times • Feb. 18, 2022
While Dasch and his team were busy shopping and meeting at the Horn & Hardart Automat, the FBI was examining the boxes of explosives and equipment the Coast Guard had discovered on Amagansett Beach.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
