automate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to apply the principles of automation to (a mechanical process, industry, office, etc.).
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to operate or control by automation.
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to displace or make obsolete by automation (often followed byout ).
The unskilled jobs are going to be automated out.
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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automatesimple
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automatessimple
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have automatedperfect
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has automatedperfect
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am automatingprogressive
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are automatingprogressive
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is automatingprogressive
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have been automatingperfect progressive
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has been automatingperfect progressive
Past
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automatedsimple
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had automatedperfect
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was automatingprogressive
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were automatingprogressive
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had been automatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of automate
First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from automation
Explanation
When you design a machine to complete a process once done by a human, you automate the process. Standardized tests once had to be graded by hand, now they're automated, i.e. done by computers. If you automate a factory, workers might lose jobs to robots and machines. A century ago, if you did laundry, you had to turn the clothes in the drum by hand. It was really hard work, so hard that in many families one day was set aside as laundry day and everyone had to help. In 1937, the first electric, or automated, washer was sold, with a motor that turned the drum. Since then, the job has become much easier, though most of us still find it a chore.
Vocabulary lists containing automate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Do it Yourself: Words Beginning with "AUTO"
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: auto
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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.
Rather than attempting to beat companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, Accenture has joined them—by striking partnerships to build agents that automate customer support, advertising, and other tasks.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
Like OpenAI and Anthropic, Cursor's technology uses AI to automate the process of writing code, one of the most prominent current uses for artificial intelligence.
From BBC • Jun. 16, 2026
Study participants’ brains could automate tasks—answers a Slack message from Leigh—by offloading them from the prefrontal cortex to other regions of their brains.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
For one thing, they automate the sign-up process somewhat, or at least it put it into state hands to complete.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
He entered the receptionist's office, flicked a hand at LaVerne Sandell, one of the few employees it seemed impossible to automate out of her position, and said, "The Chief is probably expecting me."
From Subversive by Schoenherr, John
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.
