automobile
Americannoun
-
automobiles
plural
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of automobile
1865–70; < French: literally, self-movable (vehicle). See auto- 1, mobile
Explanation
An automobile is a car: a vehicle with four wheels and an internal combustion engine. The automobile is one of the most common ways to travel. Thanks in part to Henry Ford, automobiles are just about everywhere: in cities, small towns, and even in rural areas, where it's too far to walk from place to place and there's very little public transportation. Trucks, vans, buses, and limousines are bigger than the typical automobile, but they’re automobiles, too. A motorcycle isn't an automobile because it only has two wheels. Automobiles are good for getting around, but they also cause pollution and automobile accidents.
Vocabulary lists containing automobile
To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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Frankenwords: Words with Roots from Different Languages
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: auto-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One is called QNX—a technology platform for operating critical automobile safety systems, which powers 275 million cars around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority was established by the Legislature in 1991 to combat automobile theft.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
According to the release, Volkswagen’s supervisory board, consisting of 20 members, unanimously approved CEO Oliver Blume’s turnaround proposal, announced in June, to strengthen the automobile maker’s competitiveness.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
The White House had alleged "discriminatory treatment" by Canada against US alcohol, automobile and dairy products in rolling out the 50-percent tariffs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
We stared at the mess in Digger’s front yard: tires, rusted wheel rims, an old automobile frame up on cinder blocks, a large wooden spool from some wire Digger’s father had hauled once.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
While car imagery doesn’t predominate on @map_pointz, the scenes that Rosales was involved in couldn’t have happened without automobiles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Founded in the 19th century by Jewish brothers Loeb and Moses Simson in Suhl, Thuringia, it grew into a thriving industrial firm that made firearms but also bicycles and luxury automobiles.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
He said Canada sought assurances that agreed-upon tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles wouldn’t be subject to change.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
If the deal had gone into effect, U.S. tariffs on Canadian-built automobiles had been expected to drop to 15% from 25%, in what would have been a win for the Detroit carmakers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
In the evening, the boys spill out of the hall, some met by proud- looking parents with automobiles, others vanishing purposefully in twos and threes into the streets: all seem to know where they’re going.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
