automate

verb

au·to·mate ˈȯ-tə-ˌmāt

automated; automating

transitive verb

: to operate by automation

: to convert to largely automatic operation

automate a process

intransitive verb

: to undergo automation

automatable

ˈȯ-tə-ˌmā-tə-bəl

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.

But a new artificial-intelligence model automates this process by identifying pain in goats—using only their facial expressions. —

Lucy Tu, Scientific American, 7 Feb. 2025 Among other things, these tools can be used to automate the process of scouring different websites for job openings. —

Will Knight, WIRED, 5 Feb. 2025 Today, the process can be entirely computerized and automated. —

Leah Dolan, CNN, 4 Feb. 2025 Some jobs were parceled out to remote workers; other, simpler tasks were automated by Invisible’s engineers. —

Iain Martin, Forbes, 4 Feb. 2025 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

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Automate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/automate. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.

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Kids Definition

automate

verb

au·to·mate ˈȯt-ə-ˌmāt

automated; automating

: to operate by automation

: to convert to mainly automatic operation

Last Updated: 12 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences

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automate

verb

Examples of automate in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near automate

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition