autocomplete

[ aw-toh-kuhm-pleet ]

verb (used with object)

, au·to·com·plet·ed, au·to·com·plet·ing.

1. to complete (a sequence of characters) in a text field in a digital document or app: Compare auto-populate ( def ).

   Why would this library app autocomplete a book’s title if they don’t have it?!

2. sometimes used interchangeably with autofill ( def 1 ).

noun

1. a feature of a messaging app, word processor, email program, web browser, etc., that automatically predicts the remaining characters in a word or phrase based on what has been typed or input before:

   Using autocomplete makes typing on my phone’s tiny keyboard so much faster.

Other Words From

• au·to·com·ple·tion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of autocomplete¹

First recorded in 1990–95; auto- ³( def ) + complete ( def )

Example Sentences

The autocomplete functionality tied to each command line tool can be tweaked to your liking and shared with the wider community.

From TechCrunch

That’s an improvement on an earlier iteration called Copilot, a kind of autocomplete for coders released as a product on Github, which had a success rate of 27 percent.

From Singularity Hub 

Again, credit to the impressive product Google has built, but autocomplete certainly impacts how people search in bulk.

From Search Engine Land

That is remarkable, but I wonder how much of that is influenced less by synchronization, and more by autocomplete.

From Search Engine Land

I would go out on a limb and say I now use autocomplete more than not.

From Search Engine Land