automate

verb

au·​to·​mate ˈȯ-tə-ˌmāt How to pronounce automate (audio)
automated; automating

transitive verb

1
: to operate by automation
2
: to convert to largely automatic operation
automate a process

intransitive verb

: to undergo automation
automatable
ˈȯ-tə-ˌmā-tə-bəl How to pronounce automate (audio)
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.
Because in the age of AI, creativity is the one thing that can’t be automated, templatized or timed to the minute. —Jacquelyn Lamar Berney, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025 More recently, worries have emerged about AI creating a white collar jobs crisis by automating entry-level jobs out of existence. —Lia Russell updated July 14, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2025 The National Weather Service extends its flash flood warning for central Kerr County until 7 a.m. based on radar and automated gauges. —Hannah Fingerhut, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2025 Additionally, if your client is paying you regularly, setting up automated, recurring payments can ensure you get paid on time. —Juliana Berger, Forbes.com, 1 July 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

Rhymes for automate

See All Rhymes for automate

Browse Nearby Words

Automat
automate
automated
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Cite this Entry

“Automate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/automate. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.

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Kids Definition

automate

verb
au·​to·​mate ˈȯt-ə-ˌmāt How to pronounce automate (audio)
automated; automating
1
: to operate by automation
2
: to convert to mainly automatic operation

More from Merriam-Webster on automate

Nglish: Translation of automate for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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