automotive
Americanadjective
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pertaining to the design, operation, manufacture, or sale of automobiles.
automotive parts.
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propelled by a self-contained motor, engine, or the like.
noun
adjective
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relating to motor vehicles
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self-propelling
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of automotive
Explanation
Anything automotive has to do with automobiles — in other words, cars. The automotive industry, for example, is all about making and selling cars. If the windshield wipers fall off your car, get new ones at an automotive store. The word automotive comes from the Greek auto for “self” and motive for “moving," which makes sense for what the word may have meant in the late 1800s — a self-propelled helicopter-like machine for one person. Don’t bother looking for one of those, though, automotive now just refers to car stuff. If you're interested in automotive technology, you might become a mechanic. Or maybe you could figure out how to make one of those little helicopters.
Vocabulary lists containing automotive
To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: auto-
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 1
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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.
Porsche’s net cash flow margin in its mainstay automotive segment is now expected to increase this year to between 5.5% and 7.5%, up from previous guidance of 3% to 5%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Duffy told Farley that Ford needs to rely less on Chinese car companies and “promote the self-reliance and integrity of the domestic automotive industry.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
As automotive analyst Matthias Schmidt puts it, the company is "seeing a head-on hit each time a Land Rover rolls off a ship onto US soil".
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Much is at stake for the regions surrounding the four factories, where vast numbers of businesses from automotive suppliers to bars to cafes can have a stake in a plant's future.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
But by 1903, automotive horsepower had greatly improved— one car averaged 65.3 mph in a cross-European race that season—making the races a good spectacle.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
