self-driving
Americanadjective
-
(of a machine) operating without the guidance of a human.
-
(of a vehicle) navigated and maneuvered by a computer without a need for human control or intervention under a range of driving situations and conditions.
self-driving cars.
Etymology
Origin of self-driving
First recorded in 1830–40
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.
Waymo must stop using two Santa Monica charging stations overnight — for now — after a judge found the city might prevail in its contentious legal fight against the self-driving taxi company.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Finding parking in a city is a headache for most drivers, and the same goes for self-driving robotaxis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
XPeng steered into self-driving cars last year, announcing a plan to become the first Chinese carmaker to develop a robotaxi in-house.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Unlike Tesla, which designs much of its technology in-house, China's self-driving industry is built around a network of companies.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
For scale, fiscal 2026 brought in $215.9 billion in total revenue, with data center at $193.7 billion and the line that bundled automotive and robotics together at $2.3 billion, almost all of it self-driving.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
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.
