I. au ‧ to ‧ mat ‧ ic 1 S3 AC /ˌɔːtəˈmætɪk◂ $ ˌɒː-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ automatic , ↑ automated ; noun : ↑ automation ; adverb : ↑ automatically ]
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Language: Greek ; Origin: automatos 'acting by itself' , from auto- ( ⇨ ↑ auto- ) ]
1 . an 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 . something 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 . done without thinking, especially because you have done the same thing many times before:
Practise the breathing techniques until they become automatic.
II. automatic 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . a weapon that can fire bullets continuously
2 . a car with a system of ↑ gear s that operate themselves without the driver needing to change them