auto
noun
auto
1 American
[aw-toh]
/ ˈɔ toʊ /
noun
-
autos
plural
adjective
auto-
2
American
auto-
3
American
auto-
4
American
auto.
5
American
abbreviation
-
automatic.
-
automobile.
-
automotive.
auto
1
British
/ ˈɔːtəʊ /
noun
-
-
short for automobile
-
( as modifier )
auto parts
-
-
informal short for autorickshaw
auto-
2
British
combining form
-
self; same; of or by the same one
autobiography
-
acting from or occurring within; self-caused
autohypnosis
-
self-propelling; automatic
automobile
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of auto1
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; by shortening
Origin of auto-2
< Greek, combining form of autós self
Origin of auto-3
see origin at auto
Explanation
An auto is a car. If you drive your auto too fast, you might get a speeding ticket. The word auto is an informal, shortened form of automobile. You're most likely to hear the word auto when someone's talking about insurance, auto parts, or the auto industry. Automobile was originally a French word, formed from the Greek autos, or "self," and the French mobile, "moving."
Vocabulary lists containing auto
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:
However, moving auto production from one factory to another is neither quick nor easy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Canada's new tariffs take effect in two weeks, while the most significant US retaliation - a 50% tariff on Canadian-built vehicles and auto parts - will not kick in until early 2027.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Other carmakers have warned that German auto plants need to learn to do more with less as cost pressure has risen.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
South Korean auto maker Hyundai Motor reached a tentative wage agreement with its labor union, ending months of walkouts that have disrupted production.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
In short order, the Salomon Brothers trading floor gave birth to small markets in bonds funded by all sorts of strange stuff: credit card receivables, aircraft leases, auto loans, health club dues.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
An auto- inflammatory disease is defined by chronic inflammation, unprovoked by an infection, when antibody concentrations are not high.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
So you used to be able to post to WordPress and we would auto- post to Tumblr, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook etc., and they turned off those API is after Cambridge Analytica.
From The Verge ● Aug. 14, 2019
“Yet while auto- and steelworkers generally shared some of the gains of their industries, the growers rarely got their piece of the pie,” Simon writes.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2017
Debating the question “is the iCar real?” has become a favorite barroom distraction for auto- and tech journos alike.
From Time ● Apr. 18, 2016
Moreover, as was shown by what followed, she was oddly exercising the faculty of invention upon the spe- ciality of the clever Jacquet Droz, the designer of auto- matic substitutes for human limbs.
From Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
He also imposed separate levies on imports such as steel, aluminum, lumber and autos that still stand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
In Paris, the CAC 40 falls 0.2% as autos faltered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Greer told the New York Times on Saturday that the Trump administration offered to eliminate a 10-percent tariff on softwood lumber, and reduce the 25-percent autos tariff.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
In the final hours before Wednesday's deadline, negotiators were discussing a deal that would reduce US tariffs on Canadian autos from 25% to 15%, according to a Reuters report citing anonymous sources.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Go play with the autos and the flappers.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
