automobile
Americannoun
-
automobiles
plural
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of automobile
1865–70; < French: literally, self-movable (vehicle). See auto- 1, mobile
Explanation
An automobile is a car: a vehicle with four wheels and an internal combustion engine. The automobile is one of the most common ways to travel. Thanks in part to Henry Ford, automobiles are just about everywhere: in cities, small towns, and even in rural areas, where it's too far to walk from place to place and there's very little public transportation. Trucks, vans, buses, and limousines are bigger than the typical automobile, but they’re automobiles, too. A motorcycle isn't an automobile because it only has two wheels. Automobiles are good for getting around, but they also cause pollution and automobile accidents.
Vocabulary lists containing automobile
To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Frankenwords: Words with Roots from Different Languages
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: auto-
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
"I've called for that too. I've said let's not send out the diesel. We make a lot of diesel. That could have a little bit of an effect on regular automobile gasoline," he said .
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
While AI plays might be back in vogue, utilities have struggled, as have consumer discretionary stocks, including names tied to automobile components, textiles and luxury goods, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
They evoke the “envelope body” style of the postwar American automobile, in which every element—headlights, fenders and all—was drawn into a continuous fluid shell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
“In light of evolving societal norms, the Commissioner deems there is insufficient justification for the continued use of marital status in automobile insurance rating,” the filing stated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
For those of us who had lived all our lives on Rass, an automobile was almost more exotic than Paris.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
“Using AI to autonomously operate automobiles, trucks, and drones, as well as other industrial automation initiatives, represent a $400 billion market opportunity by increasing equipment uptime while reducing training and operating costs,” they said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
On 8,000 acres in Michigan, Ford’s researchers planted 300 soybean varieties and searched for ways to incorporate the harvest into automobiles.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
While car imagery doesn’t predominate on @map_pointz, the scenes that Rosales was involved in couldn’t have happened without automobiles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Founded in the 19th century by Jewish brothers Loeb and Moses Simson in Suhl, Thuringia, it grew into a thriving industrial firm that made firearms but also bicycles and luxury automobiles.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
A small, sporadic stream of automobiles with faded paint and patched tires bounced along the rutted roads that paralleled the railroad tracks, all heading the same direction—west.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
