automobile
Americannoun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- automobilist noun
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
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Frankenwords: Words with Roots from Different Languages
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: auto-
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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.
While searching for new fibers that could be used in making automobile tires, she discovered an unusual polymer solution that produced extraordinarily strong and lightweight fibers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
Previous oil-price surges have sent automobile markets into tailspins: Sales dropped 44.7 percent the year after the 1973 oil shock and more than 40 percent after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
“It is the opinion of the Ford Motor Company that automobile exhaust gases are dissipated in the atmosphere quickly and do not present an air pollution problem.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
At one end, a small but growing cohort of educated and skilled women is entering salaried roles in IT, automobile manufacturing and business services.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
Mrs. Olinski told us that she had become paralyzed in an automobile accident.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
