Dictionary.com
definitions

automate

[ aw-tuh-meyt ]
/ ˈɔ təˌmeɪt /

verb (used with object), au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing.

to apply the principles of automation to (a mechanical process, industry, office, etc.).
to operate or control by automation.
to displace or make obsolete by automation (often followed by out): The unskilled jobs are going to be automated out.

verb (used without object), au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing.

to install automatic procedures, as for manufacturing or servicing; follow or utilize the principles of automation: Many banks have begun to automate.

Nearby words

  1. automaker,
  2. automanipulation,
  3. automat,
  4. automata,
  5. automata theory,
  6. automated,
  7. automated teller machine,
  8. automated-teller machine,
  9. automatic,
  10. automatic beat

Origin of automate

First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from automation
Related formsau·to·mat·a·ble, adjectivede-au·to·mate, verb, de-au·to·mat·ed, de-au·to·mat·ing.non·au·to·mat·ed, adjectiveun·au·to·mat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for automatable

automate

/ (ˈɔːtəˌmeɪt) /

verb

to make (a manufacturing process, factory, etc) automatic, or (of a manufacturing process, etc) to be made automatic
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 automatable

automate

v.

"to convert to automatic operation," 1954, back-formation from automated (q.v.). Ancient Greek verb automatizein meant "to act of oneself, to act unadvisedly." Related: Automating.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper