automation
Americannoun
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automations
plural
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the technique, method, or system of operating or controlling a process by highly automatic means, as by electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a minimum.
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a mechanical device, operated electronically, that functions automatically, without continuous input from an operator.
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act or process of automating.
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the state of being automated.
noun
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the use of methods for controlling industrial processes automatically, esp by electronically controlled systems, often reducing manpower
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the extent to which a process is so controlled
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of automation
First recorded in 1945–50; autom(atic) ( def. ) + (oper)ation ( def. )
Explanation
Automation means making something automatic, or mechanized. If there's smoke in your house and your smoke detector is set up to "call" the fire department, that's an example of automation. Car companies were the first manufacturers to use assembly lines, where the steps of building a car were divided among workers––and when those jobs started to be done more often by machines then by people, an executive at Ford coined the term automation to describe what was happening.
Vocabulary lists containing automation
To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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President Obama's Farewell Address
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The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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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:
"I think the automation they're using isn't working properly," says Warrilow.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
An online business the size of Vinted with millions of transactions needs automation and communicates electronically with its users.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Bonnie Dilber, a senior manager of talent acquisition at artificial-intelligence automation company Zapier, said automatically shunning frequent job switchers can mean missing out on a good hire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Along with real-time target recognition and other automation gains, this technology helps to increase pilots’ efficiency and reduce the number of people needed to strike the same number of targets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Today, thanks to automation, it takes five jobs.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
Zietz and co-founder Daniela Muñoz started LemonLime earlier this year as a business that creates AI agents and automations for companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The company aims to make its 700-plus people self-sufficient, building the automations and AI processes they need themselves.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2025
Brown suggests prioritizing bookkeepers and accountants, building automations or hiring someone to generate leads.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2024
As a result, program traders gave way to more sophisticated automations with much more advanced technology: High-frequency trading.
From Scientific American ● May 19, 2023
Hiring specifically in back-office functions such as human resources will be suspended or slowed, Krishna said, adding that 30% of non-customer-facing roles could be replaced by AI and automations in five years.
From Reuters ● May 1, 2023
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.
