auto
[aw-toh]
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- of or relating to automobiles: an auto salesman; auto detailing.
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Origin of auto
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; by shortening
auto.
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auto-1
- a combining form meaning “self,” “same,” “spontaneous,” used in the formation of compound words: autograph, autodidact.
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Also especially before a vowel, aut-.
Origin of auto-1
< Greek, combining form of autós self
auto-2
- a combining form representing automobile in compound words: autocade.
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Origin of auto-2
see origin at auto
auto-3
- a combining form representing automatic in compound words: autoalarm; autofeed; autofocus. Sometimes also taken as an adjective: auto enlarger; auto stop control; auto dialer.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for auto
Contemporary Examples
I know that Detroit is losing market share in auto sales, but how did they let the Motown sound slip out of their hands?
A small fire in an auto parts store created explosions that quickly got out of control.
Auto factories tend to sprawl horizontally over huge lots, and have flat roofs.
As for the paint job, that would be handled by teenagers in the auto shop class at one of the high schools.
Among the others are massage schools, paralegal programs and auto repair academies.
Historical Examples
They sat on a rock by the roadside waiting for the mailman's auto to come along.
Pee-wee HarrisPercy Keese Fitzhugh
You can't be going to make your motor-cycle into an auto; are you?
Tom Swift and his Electric RunaboutVictor Appleton
Mr. Damon never guided a car better than he did his auto that day.
Tom Swift and his Electric RunaboutVictor Appleton
He was leanin' for'ard over the wheel, starin' at the man in the other auto.
The Depot MasterJoseph C. Lincoln
That auto won't be done this afternoon, and nobody expects it to be.
The Woman-HatersJoseph C. Lincoln
auto
- short for automobile
- (as modifier)auto parts
- Indian informal short for autorickshaw
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auto-
sometimes before a vowel aut-
- self; same; of or by the same oneautobiography
- acting from or occurring within; self-causedautohypnosis
- self-propelling; automaticautomobile
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Word Origin
from Greek autos self
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for auto
n.
shortened form of automobile, 1899; cf. French auto.
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auto-
word-forming element meaning "self, one's own, by oneself," from Greek auto- "self, one's own," combining form of autos "self, same," of unknown origin. Before a vowel, aut-; before an aspirate, auth-. In Greek also used as a prefix to proper names, e.g. automelinna "Melinna herself." The opposite prefix would be allo-.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
auto-
- Self; same:autogamy.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
auto-
- A prefix meaning oneself, as in autoimmune, producing antibodies or immunity against oneself. It also means by itself, automatic, as in autonomic, governing by itself.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.