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automate

[aw-tuh-meyt]
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verb (used with object), au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing.
  1. to apply the principles of automation to (a mechanical process, industry, office, etc.).
  2. to operate or control by automation.
  3. to displace or make obsolete by automation (often followed by out): The unskilled jobs are going to be automated out.
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verb (used without object), au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing.
  1. to install automatic procedures, as for manufacturing or servicing; follow or utilize the principles of automation: Many banks have begun to automate.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for automate

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Or they are reduced to a stereotyped repertory that is easy to mechanize, to automate, and finally, to do away with.

British Dictionary definitions for automate

automate

verb
  1. to make (a manufacturing process, factory, etc) automatic, or (of a manufacturing process, etc) to be made automatic
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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 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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper