Meanings
- not comparableHaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling.
- not comparableOf, or relating to motor vehicles.
But electric vehicles and the batteries that made them run became ensnared in corporate scandals, fraud, and monopolistic corruption that shook the confidence of the nation and inspired automotive upstarts.
2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion1 more example
“You can look back 15, 20 years to when GM’s China operations was its life preserver. It certainly isn’t now. It’s a money pit,” said Jeff Schuster, global vice president of automotive research at research firm GlobalData. “Every international brand is suffering in China.”
2024 December 17, Chris Isidore, “The retreat from the world’s largest auto market has begun”, in CNN
plural automotives
- The field, business, or market segment that concerns automobiles, especially their manufacture.
His business is a machine shop that works mainly in automotive, aerospace, and medical.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivecontaining within itself the means of propulsion or movement
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-)
- Englishauto-
- Anglo-Normanmotif
- Middle Frenchmotif
- Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
- Proto-Italic*moweō
- Latinmoveō
- Latinmōtus
- Late Latinmōtīvum
- Middle Englishmotif
- Englishmotive
- Englishautomotive
Translations
Bulgarian самоходен
- самоходен (samohoden)having the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
Catalan automotor, automotor
- automotorhaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- automotorof, or relating to motor vehicles
Chinese Mandarin 汽車 /汽车, 機動車 /机动车
- 汽車 /汽车 (qìchē)having the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- 機動車 /机动车 (jīdòngchē)having the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
Czech automobilový
- automobilovýof, or relating to motor vehicles
Finnish itseliikkuva, auto-
- itseliikkuvahaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- auto-of, or relating to motor vehicles
French automobile, automoteur
- automobilehaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- automoteurhaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- automobileof, or relating to motor vehicles
Indonesian swacala, otomotif
- swacalahaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- otomotifof, or relating to motor vehicles
Italian automobilistico
- automobilisticoof, or relating to motor vehicles
Malay automotif, automotif
- automotifhaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- automotifof, or relating to motor vehicles
Polish samobieżny, motoryzacyjny
- samobieżnyhaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- motoryzacyjnyof, or relating to motor vehicles
- samochodowyof, or relating to motor vehicles
Portuguese automotivo, automotivo
- automotivohaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- automotivoof, or relating to motor vehicles
Russian самохо́дный, автомоби́льный
- самохо́дный (samoxódnyj)having the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- автомоби́льный (avtomobílʹnyj)of, or relating to motor vehicles
- авто- (avto-)of, or relating to motor vehicles
Spanish automotor, automotor
- automotorhaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- automotorof, or relating to motor vehicles
- automovilísticoof, or relating to motor vehicles
Swedish självgående, bil-
- självgåendehaving the ability to move by itself; self-propelled or self-propelling
- bil-of, or relating to motor vehicles
Cite this entry
automotive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/automotive
“automotive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/automotive. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “automotive,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/automotive.
Source: automotive on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.