From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishautomaticau‧to‧mat‧ic1 /ˌɔːtəˈmætɪk◂ $ ˌɒː-/ ●●○ S3 AWL adjective 1 MACHINEan automatic machine is designed to work without needing someone to operate it for each part of a process → manual an automatic weapon an automatic gearbox My camera is fully automatic.2 ALWAYS/EVERY TIMEsomething that is automatic always happens as a result of something you have done, especially because of a rule or law Littering results in an automatic fine.3 THINK ABOUTdone without thinking, especially because you have done the same thing many times before Practise the breathing techniques until they become automatic.
Examples from the Corpus
automatic• Complexity is also a feature of those real-life markets in which convergence also is neither swift nor automatic.• It takes a while before this kind of work feels automatic.• Mode A is the identification mode, whilst Mode C is the automatic altitude reporting mode.• The fall led to a five-tenths automatic deduction, and each foot out of bounds counted one-tenth of a point.• Treacly piped music from inside slopped out each time the automatic doors opened.• a camera with automatic focus• Automatic lights had come on in various parts of the house.• A teacher's automatic reaction is to correct mistakes in language.• Elizabeth immediately flew into a rage - her automatic response to any kind of criticism.• The soldiers lay on the highway with their automatic rifles beside them.• An automatic scorecard tracks progress around the course.• The camera has a 32mm glass lens, and its automatic shutter allows you to take photos in near-darkness without a flash.• The automatic transmission, an $ 815 stand-alone option in the tester, was nothing to brag about for smoothness of operation.• The Soviet Union, in preparation for manned landings, then concentrated on landing automatic unmanned spacecraft on the lunar surface.• The merit system replaced automatic yearly pay raises.fully automatic• Honda also designed the four-wheel-drive system, which engages only when needed and is fully automatic.• If there was a drawback, it was the rate of fire on fully automatic.• Such control is often fully automatic.• This pump-house was fully automatic and the latest example of technological design.• After the war, semi-and fully automatic rifles were developed.• The Slotopal On-Line Analyser from Schloetter is for fully automatic titrations of plating bath constituents and other processes.• It had a spring suspension axle for which a fully automatic tracking axle system is also available.• Our fully automatic video cameras are so easy to use - just point the camera and press the record button!automaticautomatic2 noun [countable] 1 PMWa weapon that can fire bullets continuously2 TTCa car with a system of gears that operate themselves without the driver needing to change themExamples from the Corpus
automatic• Give any young egotist two shots of dope and an automatic and he will hold up the government mint.• Somewhere below, angry serpents of stabilising jets hissed as automatics restored the balance.• Four automatics have been launched to complete the Corsa hatchback range, which replaced the Nova earlier this year.• Giuliani said Kamal purchased the automatic in Florida at the end of January.Origin automatic1 (1700-1800) Greek automatos “acting by itself”, from auto- ( → AUTO-) 