self-acting
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-acting
First recorded in 1670–80
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.
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 Henryk Sienkiewicz
If the proper study of mankind be man,—which, of course, includes woman,—we are throwing a precious deal of time away on centrifugal pumps, sewing-machines, and self-acting razors.
From The Dodd Family Abroad, Vol. II by Charles James Lever
The spindles are fitted with self-acting motions o1 and o2, which are easily thrown in and out of gear.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose
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.
