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automatic pilot

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noun
  1. Aeronautics. an airborne electronic control system that automatically maintains a preset heading and attitude.Also called automatic, autopilot, gyropilot, robot.
Idioms
  1. on automatic pilot, functioning in an unthinking or reflexive manner.

Origin of automatic pilot

First recorded in 1915–20
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for automatic pilot

Gyropilot, autopilot
British Dictionary definitions for automatic pilot

automatic pilot

noun
  1. Also called: autopilot a device that automatically maintains an aircraft on a preset course
  2. on automatic pilot informal acting without conscious thought because of tiredness, shock, or familiarity with the task being performed
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