Meanings
present singular third person automates · participle present automating · participle past automated · past automated
- ambitransitiveTo replace or enhance human labor with machines.
Many offices still need to automate.
2 more examples
We saved time and money by automating the process.
In the early '60's a Yoyodyne executive living near L.A. and located someplace in the corporate root-system above supervisor but below vice-president, found himself, at age 39, automated out of a job.
1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 5, in The Crying of Lot 49, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published November 1976, →ISBN, page 83Synonyms: robotize
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo replace or enhance human labor with machines.
More synonyms by meaning
verbmake automatic or control or operate automatically
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ew
- Proto-Indo-European*tó-
- Proto-Hellenic*autós
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂ew
- Ancient Greekαὖ (aû)
- Ancient Greekτόν (tón)
- Ancient Greekαὐτός (autós)
- Ancient Greekαὐτο- (auto-)
- Proto-Indo-European*men-
- Proto-Indo-European*mn̥tós
- Proto-Hellenic*mətós
- Ancient Greekαὐτόμᾰτος (autómătos)
- Ancient Greekαὐτόμᾰτον (autómăton)
- Classical Latinautomatum
- New Latinautomaticus
- Englishautomatic
- Englishautomationbf.
- Englishautomate
Back-formation from automation.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أَتْمَتَ
- أَتْمَتَ (ʔatmata)to replace or enhance human labor with machines
Bulgarian автоматизи́рам
- автоматизи́рам (avtomatizíram)to replace or enhance human labor with machines
Catalan automatitzar
- automatitzarto replace or enhance human labor with machines
Chinese Mandarin 自動化 /自动化
- 自動化 /自动化 (zìdònghuà)to replace or enhance human labor with machines
Czech automatizovat, zautomatizovat
- automatizovatto replace or enhance human labor with machines
- zautomatizovatto replace or enhance human labor with machines
Danish automatisere
- automatisereto replace or enhance human labor with machines
Dutch automatiseren
- automatiserento replace or enhance human labor with machines
Finnish automatisoida, automaattistaa
- automatisoidato replace or enhance human labor with machines
- automaattistaato replace or enhance human labor with machines
French automatiser
- automatiserto replace or enhance human labor with machines
German automatisieren
- automatisierento replace or enhance human labor with machines
Greek αυτοματοποιήστε
- αυτοματοποιήστε (aftomatopoiíste)to replace or enhance human labor with machines
Hungarian automatizál
- automatizálto replace or enhance human labor with machines
Italian automaticizzare
- automaticizzareto replace or enhance human labor with machines
Japanese 自動化する
- 自動化する (jidōka suru)to replace or enhance human labor with machines
Korean 자동화하다
- 자동화하다 (jadonghwahada)to replace or enhance human labor with machines
Māori whakaaunoa
- whakaaunoato replace or enhance human labor with machines
Persian خودکاراندن
- خودکاراندنto replace or enhance human labor with machines
Polish automatyzować, zautomatyzować
- automatyzowaćto replace or enhance human labor with machines
- zautomatyzowaćto replace or enhance human labor with machines
Portuguese automatizar
- automatizarto replace or enhance human labor with machines
Romanian automatiza
- automatizato replace or enhance human labor with machines
Russian автоматизи́ровать
- автоматизи́ровать (avtomatizírovatʹ)to replace or enhance human labor with machines
Slovak automatizovať, zaautomatizovať
- automatizovaťto replace or enhance human labor with machines
- zaautomatizovaťto replace or enhance human labor with machines
Spanish automatizar
- automatizarto replace or enhance human labor with machines
Swedish automatisera
- automatiserato replace or enhance human labor with machines
Ukrainian автоматизува́ти
- автоматизува́ти (avtomatyzuváty)to replace or enhance human labor with machines
Yiddish אויטאָמאַטירן, אויטאָמירן
- אויטאָמאַטירן (oytomatirn)to replace or enhance human labor with machines
- אויטאָמירן (oytomirn)to replace or enhance human labor with machines
Cite this entry
automate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/automate
“automate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/automate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “automate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/automate.
Source: automate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.