automation
Americannoun
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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.
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a mechanical device, operated electronically, that functions automatically, without continuous input from an operator.
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act or process of automating.
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the state of being automated.
noun
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the use of methods for controlling industrial processes automatically, esp by electronically controlled systems, often reducing manpower
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the extent to which a process is so controlled
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of automation
First recorded in 1945–50; autom(atic) ( def. ) + (oper)ation ( def. )
Explanation
Automation means making something automatic, or mechanized. If there's smoke in your house and your smoke detector is set up to "call" the fire department, that's an example of automation. Car companies were the first manufacturers to use assembly lines, where the steps of building a car were divided among workers––and when those jobs started to be done more often by machines then by people, an executive at Ford coined the term automation to describe what was happening.
Vocabulary lists containing automation
To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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President Obama's Farewell Address
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The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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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.
Nvidia wants the operating layer underneath — and if physical AI scales the way factory automation has, it will get it.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 1, 2026
Still, the rise of automation at work has heightened concerns that people will lose their jobs.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026
"We recognised that for us to enhance some of our automation and machine learning and artificial intelligence tools we needed to ensure that they were trained by the most experienced individuals," he said, per Bloomberg.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
In automation theory, Doctorow writes, a centaur is “a person who is assisted by a machine.”
From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026
Inside, the hydrofoil gearings for the Pole Star sat in red dimness, clicking gears and whirring automation mechanicals for the sails and hydrofoils and parasail reels.
From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi
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.
