automation
[ aw-tuh-mey-shuh n ]
/ ˌɔ təˈmeɪ ʃən /
noun
the technique, method, or system of operating or controlling a process by highly automatic means, as by electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a minimum.
a mechanical device, operated electronically, that functions automatically, without continuous input from an operator.
act or process of automating.
the state of being automated.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- automatic transmission,
- automatic vending,
- automatic writing,
- automatic-teller machine,
- automatically,
- automatism,
- automatization,
- automatize,
- automatograph,
- automaton
Origin of automation
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for automation
automation
/ (ˌɔːtəˈmeɪʃən) /
noun
the use of methods for controlling industrial processes automatically, esp by electronically controlled systems, often reducing manpower
the extent to which a process is so controlled
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
automation
1948, in the manufacturing sense, coined by Ford Motor Co. Vice President Delmar S. Harder, from automatic + -ion. Earlier (1838) was automatism, which meant "quality of being automatic" in the classical sense.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper