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:
All metro and automobile traffic is now suspended across the bridge, causing major delays across the city.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
It could have a little of an effect on regular automobile gasoline, because when you do that, it’s sort of a flow, a balance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
“In light of evolving societal norms, the Commissioner deems there is insufficient justification for the continued use of marital status in automobile insurance rating,” the filing stated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 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
Most of the furniture had been moved to Portia’s house, and the rest was tied to the automobile outside.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Justices across the ideological spectrum noted that state-based lawsuits are routinely used to target other conduct with widespread effects, such as the marketing of tobacco, the manufacture of asbestos or the production of defective automobiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
On 8,000 acres in Michigan, Ford’s researchers planted 300 soybean varieties and searched for ways to incorporate the harvest into automobiles.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
One of these automobiles could come cruising into her life.
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
The road leaving town was jammed with automobiles and horse-drawn wagons.
From "Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps" by Andrea Warren
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.
