self-acting

American  

[self-ak-ting] / ˈsɛlfˈæk tɪŋ /

adjective

1. acting by itself; automatic.

---

self-acting British  

adjective

1. not requiring an external influence or control to function; automatic

---

Other Word Forms

• self-action noun

Etymology

Origin of self-acting

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

Its new rule said bump stocks were illegal machine guns because they function as “a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism that allows the firing of multiple rounds through a single function of the trigger.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2024

It said the bump stock device functions as “a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism that allows the firing of multiple rounds through a single pull of the trigger.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2023

Faculties which are thoroughly self-acting are generally bold and radical.

From Hania by Sienkiewicz, Henryk

There are my plans for a self-acting syphon.

From The Story of Antony Grace by Fenn, George Manville

Here the Grail, the chalice of the Last Supper, is at the same time, as in the Gawain stories, self-acting and food-supplying.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various