autoresponder
noun
au·to·re·spond·er
ˌȯ-tō-ri-ˈspän-dər 
variants
or auto-responder
or less commonly auto responder
plural autoresponders or auto-responders also auto responders
: a software feature that automatically sends a response to incoming messages (such as emails)
… it has an email autoresponder that you can use to send follow-up emails to customers after they have made a purchase.—
Angela Scott-Briggs
Angela Scott-BriggsThe auto responder is a company's introduction to potential clients and customers. It sends … informational messages to site registrants. It delivers reminders about products and services.—Mitch Tuch
Mitch TuchThink about a short message—conveyed on voice mail and on email and SMS auto-responders—that says something like: "As you can imagine, I'm very busy at the moment. …"—Kwame Anthony Appiah
Kwame Anthony Appiah
also
: a response sent by an autoresponder : auto-response
"One of the most important things that I do before I go on vacation to keep me from being overwhelmed after is I put up an autoresponder that is a little bit more detailed than 'Hey, I'm out of the office from this day to this day.' …" —Anna Dearmon Kornick, quoted in HuffPost
Anna Dearmon Kornick, quoted in HuffPost An SMS autoresponder … is an automated message that is sent to customers. The message is triggered when a customer sends a text to the business. —PRWeb Newswire
PRWeb Newswire "If you want weekends off, you can write an auto-responder that says, 'I'm away from my e-mail until Monday morning. If this is an emergency, please call me on my cell,'" suggests [Sherry] Turkle. —Liz Welch
Liz Welch Examples of autoresponder in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For example, an email autoresponder is a tool that most small business owners recognize as valuable for warming up leads and increasing engagement, yet many do not implement it.
—Ethan Stone, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
Forbes is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Create an all-encompassing autoresponder that frees people up to take the next step.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Make an email autoresponder, book a dream trip, and empower a team member to get things off your plate.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Use Auto-Responses: Redirect social media messages to email with a simple autoresponder.
—Jess Cording, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Lauren Goode: Boone wrote back to my autoresponder the other day.
—Michael Calore, WIRED, 17 Oct. 2024
So consider using an email autoresponder to save yourself some time.
—Mark Snell, Forbes, 9 June 2022
Is there anything more satisfying than setting up an OOO autoresponder?
—Emma Laperruque, Bon Appétit, 1 Aug. 2022
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Ethan Stone, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
Forbes is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Create an all-encompassing autoresponder that frees people up to take the next step.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Make an email autoresponder, book a dream trip, and empower a team member to get things off your plate.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Use Auto-Responses: Redirect social media messages to email with a simple autoresponder.
—Jess Cording, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Lauren Goode: Boone wrote back to my autoresponder the other day.
—Michael Calore, WIRED, 17 Oct. 2024
So consider using an email autoresponder to save yourself some time.
—Mark Snell, Forbes, 9 June 2022
Is there anything more satisfying than setting up an OOO autoresponder?
—Emma Laperruque, Bon Appétit, 1 Aug. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Autoresponder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autoresponder. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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