auto

1 of 3

noun

au·to ˈȯ-(ˌ)tō

ˈä-

plural autos

Synonyms of auto next

: automobile

auto

2 of 3

combining form

variants or before a vowel aut-

: self : same one

autobiography

autosuggestion

: automatic : self-acting

autopilot

Examples of auto in a Sentence

Noun the auto gave people a level of mobility that they had never known before

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Noun

Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. —

Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 20 Nov. 2024 Business News The 5 most dangerous car brands These car brands had the highest fatal accident rates per miles traveled By Start Slideshow Start Slideshow Cars have more safety features than ever, but that isn’t stopping deadly auto collisions. —

Ben Kesslen, Quartz, 20 Nov. 2024

Adjective

The election is a result of the agreement reached between the federal government and the union following the fallout from the long-running corruption scandal that sent former union officials and ex-auto executives to prison for misusing worker training funds, among other misdeeds. —

Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, 28 Feb. 2023 So which makes the best semi-auto shotgun? —

Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, 25 Jan. 2021 See all Example Sentences for auto

Word History

Etymology

Noun

by shortening

Adjective

by shortening

Combining form

borrowed from Greek, combining form of autós "self, the same" (also as third person pronoun), of uncertain origin

Note: For autós R. Beekes posits as the Indo-European forerunner *h₂eu̯- "again" + *to- "that" (see that entry 1); *h₂eu̯- alone is the source of Greek aû "again, another time, in turn, next" (Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009). G. E. Dunkel, who accepts Indo-European *a as a vowel and does not believe that all words must begin with a consonant, subsumes the first element of autós under *au̯- "away, off" (*au̯-tó- would hence originally have been a deictic, "the one over there") and subsumes Greek aû under *h₂u-, by-form of *h₂o- "with it, at it, and, also" (Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme, Heidelberg, 2014). Older etymological proposals (as a link between au- in autós and Sanskrit ásuḥ "life") are summarized by E. Schwyzer in Griechische Grammatik (Munich, 1990 [1938]), pp. 613-14.

First Known Use

Noun

1899, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1876, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of auto was in 1876

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Auto.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auto. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

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Kids Definition

auto

1 of 2 noun

au·to

ˈȯt-ō,

ˈät-

plural autos

: automobile

auto-

2 of 2

see aut-

Last Updated: 23 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences

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auto

noun

adjective

combining form

Synonyms

Examples of auto in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near auto

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition