automatic

/ˌˈɔdəˌmædɪk/

/ɔtəˈmætɪk/

Other forms: automatics

If someone asks, “How are you?” and you reply, “Fine,” without really thinking about it, that’s an automatic reply. Something that’s automatic is done without thinking, almost as if you’re a well-programmed machine.

The word automatic can be used to describe a machine that works on its own, performing its tasks with little or no human intervention, such as an automatic transmission on a car. Or, automatic can describe a person whose actions are like a machine's. If you flash a smile every time someone walks through the door, it’s an automatic smile, a natural reaction you didn't think about or plan in advance.

Definitions of automatic

1. adjective

   operating with minimal human intervention; independent of external control
   “automatic transmission”

   “a budget deficit that caused automatic spending cuts”

   synonyms:

   autoloading, self-loading, semiautomatic

   (of firearms) capable of automatic loading and firing continuously

   automated, machine-controlled, machine-driven

   operated by automation

   self-acting, self-activating, self-moving, self-regulating

   designed to activate or move or regulate itself

   self-locking

   locking automatically when closed

   self-winding

   designed so that manual winding is unnecessary

   semiautomatic

   partially automatic

   smart

   capable of independent and apparently intelligent action

   mechanical

   using (or as if using) mechanisms or tools or devices

   antonyms:

   manual

   requiring human effort

   hand-operated, non-automatic

   operated by hand
2. adjective

   without volition or conscious control
   “the automatic shrinking of the pupils of the eye in strong light”

   synonyms: reflex, reflexive

   involuntary

   controlled by the autonomic nervous system; without conscious control
3. adjective

   resembling the unthinking functioning of a machine
   “an automatic `thank you'”

   synonyms: automatonlike, machinelike, robotic, robotlike

   mechanical

   using (or as if using) mechanisms or tools or devices
4. noun

   a pistol that will keep firing until the ammunition is gone or the trigger is released
   synonyms: automatic pistol

   type of:

   automatic firearm, automatic gun, automatic weapon

   a firearm that reloads itself and keeps firing until the trigger is released

   handgun, pistol, shooting iron, side arm

   a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
5. noun

   light machine gun
   synonyms: automatic rifle, machine rifle

   types:

   assault gun, assault rifle

   any of the automatic rifles or semiautomatic rifles with large magazines designed for military use

   BAR, Browning automatic rifle

   a portable .30 caliber automatic rifle operated by gas pressure and fed by cartridges from a magazine; used by United States troops in World War I and in World War II and in the Korean War

   type of:

   automatic firearm, automatic gun, automatic weapon

   a firearm that reloads itself and keeps firing until the trigger is released

   machine gun

   a rapidly firing automatic gun (often mounted)