autonomous

American  

[aw-ton-uh-muhs] / ɔˈtɒn ə məs /

adjective

1. Government.

   1. self-governing; independent; subject to its own laws only.

   2. pertaining to an autonomy, or a self-governing community.

2. having autonomy; not subject to control from outside; independent.

   a subsidiary that functioned as an autonomous unit.

3. (of a machine, device, etc.) able to operate with little or no human control or intervention.

   an autonomous vehicle.

4. Biology.

   1. existing and functioning as an independent organism.

   2. growing naturally or spontaneously, without cultivation.

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autonomous British  

/ ɔːˈtɒnəməs /

adjective

1. (of a community, country, etc) possessing a large degree of self-government

2. of or relating to an autonomous community

3. independent of others

4. philosophy

   1. acting or able to act in accordance with rules and principles of one's own choosing

   2. (in the moral philosophy of Kant, of an individual's will) directed to duty rather than to some other end Compare heteronomous See also categorical imperative

5. biology existing as an organism independent of other organisms or parts

6. a variant spelling of autonomic

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Other Word Forms

• autonomously adverb
• nonautonomous adjective
• nonautonomousness noun

Etymology

Origin of autonomous

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Greek autónomos “with laws of one's own, independent,” equivalent to auto- auto- ¹ + nóm(os) “law, custom” + -os adjective suffix

Example Sentences

The Google-backed startup operates a fully autonomous ride-hailing service in five cities and has another 12 picked out for short-term expansion.

From MarketWatch

At a recent import expo in Shanghai, Volkswagen said it is developing its own chip for advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving through a joint venture with a Chinese firm.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Coast Guard received $4 billion more for cutters to patrol open waters and $350 million for robotics and autonomous systems.

From The Wall Street Journal

For example, world models could help improve self-driving cars, he said, because an autonomous vehicle would be able to predict seconds ahead what another car will do.

From MarketWatch

His covetous comments about Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, deepened concerns.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• self-governing
• sovereign