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definitions

automate

[aw-tuh-meyt]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR automate ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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RELATED WORDS

electronic, mechanical, computerized, automatic, electrical, robotic, mechanized, motorized, programmed

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

Examples from the Web for automated

Contemporary Examples of automated

Historical Examples of automated

  • A shudder went through him as he edged along the automated customs scanners and paper-checkers.

    The Dueling Machine

    Benjamin William Bova

  • The automated files selected three microcard dossiers that matched the requirements of the order.

    The Dueling Machine

    Benjamin William Bova

  • Listen, sir, that's just one more field that's been automated right out of existence.

    Mercenary

    Dallas McCord Reynolds

  • We have others who could design an automated textile factory, but do any know how to weave a blanket on a hand loom?

    Adaptation

    Dallas McCord Reynolds

  • There is no direct correspondence between the literacy of emergent writing and that of automated writing and reading.

British Dictionary definitions for automated

automate

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 automated
adj.

1952, American English, adjective based on automation.

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