automate

verb

au·​to·​mate ˈȯ-tə-ˌmāt How to pronounce automate (audio)
automated; automating

transitive verb

1
: to operate by automation
2
: to convert to largely automatic operation
automate a process

intransitive verb

: to undergo automation
automatable
ˈȯ-tə-ˌmā-tə-bəl How to pronounce automate (audio)
adjective

Examples of automate in a Sentence

The company recently automated its filing process. a factory that has yet to be automated a factory that has yet to automate When companies automate, employees lose jobs.
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.
Behind the scenes, the kiosk automates food prep, heating and delivery. — Greta Cross, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026 My risk-scoring framework would look at repeatability, automobility, criticality, downstream consequences and financial or reputational risk, which is the opposite of how most small businesses are currently automating. — Alison Coleman, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 The system is not entirely automated, with human operators a critical part of the decision chain (called human on the loop). — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026 Governments generally don’t need a model that’s as powerful as what’s on the frontier to automate a few tasks; Ting explains that a tiny model, even one with as few as 1 billion parameters, can suit those purposes. — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for automate

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from automation

Note: The formation of automation from automatic entry 1 (or automaton) is idiosyncratic. The -at- of automatic is blended with the suffix -ation, resulting in a word that is no longer divisible into base and suffix. The element -at- mimics, as it were, the -at- of -ate entry 4 and -ation, though in origin it has no relation to it. Another approach to this curious derivation might be to take it as a blend of automatic and operation, though there is no evidence that the coiner had this in mind. A more regular way to derive a verb from automatic would be automatize, and in fact such a word is attested (see automatize, but with a different sense), along with a corresponding noun automatization. In a discussion on automation with the editors of the Atlantic Monthly the mathematician Norbert wiener was said to take "a firm stand on nomenclature": "'Automation,' he says, is barbarous; let it be 'automatization' or nothing" ("Science and Industry," Atlantic Monthly, vol. 195, no. 6 [June, 1955], p. 14). See also the note at automation.

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of automate was in 1952

Rhymes for automate

See All Rhymes for automate

Browse Nearby Words

Automat
automate
automated
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Automate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/automate. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Kids Definition

automate

verb
au·​to·​mate ˈȯt-ə-ˌmāt How to pronounce automate (audio)
automated; automating
1
: to operate by automation
2
: to convert to mainly automatic operation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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