automobile

[aw-tuh-muh-beel, aw-tuh-muh-beel, aw-tuh-moh-beel, -buh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR automobile ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a passenger vehicle designed for operation on ordinary roads and typically having four wheels and a gasoline or diesel internal-combustion engine.See also hybrid(def 5b).

adjective

of or relating to automobiles; automotive.

Nearby words

Origin of automobile

1865–70; < French: literally, self-movable (vehicle). See auto-¹, mobile

Related formsau·to·mo·bil·ist

[aw-tuh-muh-bee-list, -moh-bi-list] /ˌɔ tə məˈbi lɪst, -ˈmoʊ bɪ lɪst/, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for automobile

Strange was a surgeon who lost the use of his hands in an automobile accident.
The Flying Sorcery of Dr. Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Marvel's Most Bizarre Magician|Rich Goldstein|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Because the automobile essentially was a motorized quadricycle.
Pryor Dodge's Two-Wheeled Obsession Is Now a Museum of Bike History|Anthony Haden-Guest|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He claimed that any serious conversation about poverty must include the issue of automobile access.
How Cars, Not Subways, Will Make Us Richer|Scott Beyer|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or an expert on cars who refuses to look under the hood of an automobile.
Music Criticism Has Degenerated Into Lifestyle Reporting|Ted Gioia|March 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

“General Motors did not start out to be a health care company that occasionally built an automobile,” Punaro said.
The H.M.O. That Kills Terrorists|Eleanor Clift|February 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The excellent automobile road around the rim affords easy approach afoot as well as by automobile and bicycle.
The Book of the National Parks|Robert Sterling Yard
It matters not to her; she can gaily slip over the county-border by automobile.
British Secret Service During the Great War|Nicholas Everitt
If his automobile went over the edge, now that the roads were icy, who could say it was not accidental?
The Crimson Gardenia and Other Tales of Adventure|Rex Beach
A friend of my fathers has an automobile and he let me steer it one day, oh, a long way.
Letty and the Twins|Helen Sherman Griffith
Link, can an automobile be driven from here into northern Mexico?
The Light of Western Stars|Zane Grey

British Dictionary definitions for automobile

automobile

noun

another word (esp US) for car (def. 1)

Derived Formsautomobilist (ˌɔːtəməˈbiːlɪst, -ˈməʊbɪlɪst), noun

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 automobile

automobile

adj.

1883, in reference to electric traction cars, from French automobile (adj.), 1861, a hybrid from Greek autos "self" (see auto-) + French mobile "moving," from Latin mobilis "movable" (see mobile (adj.)).

automobile

"self-propelled motor vehicle," 1895, from French automobile, short for véhicule automobile (see automobile (adj.)). The modern Greek calls it autokineto "moved of itself." The French word had competition in the early years from locomobile; in English other early forms were motorcar and autocar.

automobile

noun

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of automobile

Examples from the Web for automobile

automobile

noun

automobile

automobile