auto

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɔtoʊ/, /ˈɑtoʊ/, [ˈɔɾoʊ], [ˈɑɾoʊ]
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈɑtoʊ/, [ˈɑɾoʊ]
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːtəʊ/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• Rhymes: (General American, Canada) -ɑtoʊ
• Homophones: Otto, otto (in accents with the cot-caught merger)

From Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”), metanalyzed from auto- in words such as automatic, autopilot, and automobile.

auto (not comparable)

1. Clipping of automatic. (of a gearbox / transmission)

   It's an auto sedan which we picked up from a wholesaler locally.

auto (plural autos)

1. (chiefly attributively) An automobile.

   My brother is an auto mechanic.

2. A setting for automatic operation.

   Put it on auto.

   Synonym: automatic

   Antonym: manual

3. An automatic gearbox / transmission.

   A body-coloured centre pillar signalled the arrival of an electronic four-speed auto, slight suspension revisions and minor trim changes.

4. A car with an automatic gearbox / transmission.

   It wasn't too bad but we did hire an auto (couldn't imagine changing gears with my right hand).

• (automobile, attributively): automobile, car, motorcar; motor

• auto-

auto (third-person singular simple present autos, present participle autoing, simple past and past participle autoed)

1. (intransitive, dated) To travel by automobile.
   • 1907, Automotive Industries, volume 16, page 711:

     The food was excellent and well served, and it recalled the Norman cities he had autoed to.

   • 1924, The Smith Alumnae Quarterly (volumes 16-17, page 318)

     Christmas Day we decided to spend in snow, in order to feel more at home, and so we autoed up 5000 ft. to Peira Cava and reveled in the winter sports, autoing back to the roses and “summer time” at nightfall.

Clipping of autorickshaw, from Hindi ऑटो रिक्शा (ŏṭo rikśā).

auto (plural autos)

1. (India) An autorickshaw.

   ... users are often unable to note down the number of the taxi or the auto as the driver will just zoom past.

• tuk-tuk

• aout, outa

Clipping of automobil.

auto inan

1. automobile, car

   Synonym: kotxe

Clipping of automòbil.

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈaw.to/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ˈaw.tu/

auto m (plural autos)

1. car; automobile

• “auto” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “auto”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “auto” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “auto” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Borrowed from Italian auto, a clipping of automobile.

auto m

1. (Luserna) car, automobile

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Borrowed from Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈau̯to]
• IPA^(key): /ˈaʊ̯tɔ/

auto n

1. car, automobile

• auto in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• auto in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• auto in Internetová jazyková příručka

Borrowed from French auto, from automobile. Equivalent to a shortened form of automobiel.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑu̯toː/, /ˈoːtoː/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: au‧to

auto m (plural auto's, diminutive autootje n)

1. car, automobile

   Synonyms: automobiel, bak, kar, wagen, waggie

• → Arawak: ôto
• → Aukan: oto
• → Caribbean Hindustani: oto
• → Caribbean Javanese: oto
• → Indonesian: oto
• → Papiamentu: outo
• → Sranan Tongo: oto
  • → Saramaccan: otó
  • → Trió: oto
• → West Frisian: auto

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑu̯to/, [ˈɑu̯tˑo]

auto (genitive auto, partitive autot)

1. car, automobile
2. (at second or later mention) any motor vehicle, including trucks, vans, and fire engines.

Clipping of automobiili, from Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑu̯to/, [ˈɑu̯t̪o̞]
• Rhymes: -ɑuto
• Syllabification^(key): au‧to

auto

1. car, automobile

• (formal) henkilöauto
• (all colloquial) kiesi, kosla, pirssi, kauppakassi, kaara, peltilehmä, ritsa, kottero, kumijalka, kärry, biili
• (archaic, now humorous) hyrysysy

• auot, outa

Clipping of automobile.

• IPA^(key): /o.to/, /ɔ.to/

• audio

  (file)

auto f (plural autos)

1. car

   Synonyms: automobile, voiture

• → Armenian: օթո (ōtʿo)
• → Mauritian Creole: loto
• → Turkish: oto
• → Vietnamese: ô tô

• août

Borrowed from Finnish auto.

auto

1. car

• avdo

Shortened form of automobile, from Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”).

auto (plural autos)

1. car, automobile

   Synonym: automobile

• IPA^(key): /ˈaw.to/
• Rhymes: -awto
• Hyphenation: àu‧to

Clipping of automobile.

auto f (invariable)

1. Clipping of automobile: car

   Synonyms: automobile, macchina, vettura

• → Cimbrian: auto

Clipping of autobus.

auto m (invariable)

1. (regional) Clipping of autobus: bus

   Synonym: autobus

From Spanish and Portuguese auto (literally “act”).

auto m (invariable)

1. (historical, uncountable) auto (genre of dramatic literature)
2. (historical) an auto literary work

• autodafé

• auto¹ in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
• auto² in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

auto

1. Rōmaji transcription of アウト

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈau̯.toː/, [ˈäu̯t̪oː]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈau̯.to/, [ˈäːu̯t̪o]

autō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of autus

Shortened form of automašīna.

• (file)

auto m (invariable)

1. (colloquial) car (automobile, a vehicle steered by a driver)

   Synonyms: automašīna, mašīna

See aut.

auto

1. vocative singular masculine form of autais
2. accusative singular masculine form of autais
3. instrumental singular masculine form of autais
4. genitive plural masculine form of autais
5. vocative singular feminine form of autais
6. accusative singular feminine form of autais
7. instrumental singular feminine form of autais
8. genitive plural feminine form of autais

auto

1. car

From Latin altus.

• IPA^(key): /ˈawt̪ɐ/

auto m (feminine auta, m plural auti, f plural aute)

1. tall
2. high (in position)

auto

1. high

Borrowed from German Auto, from French auto, clipping of automobile.

• IPA^(key): /ˈaw.tɔ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -awtɔ
• Syllabification: au‧to

auto n (diminutive autko or auteczko)

1. (colloquial) car, automobile

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:samochód

• auto in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• auto in Polish dictionaries at PWN

• Homophone: alto (Brazil)
• Rhymes: -awtu

Semi-learned borrowing from Latin āctus, perfect passive participle of agō (“to make, I do”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- (“to lead”). Doublet of ato and acto.

auto m (plural autos)

1. a public deed or ceremony

   Synonyms: solenidade, cerimônia

2. auto (a sub-genre of dramatic literature)
3. (dated) act; deed

   Synonyms: feito, ato, ação

4. act (record of an accomplishment)

• (public deed): auto-da-fé

Clipping of automóvel.

auto m (plural autos)

1. automobile; car

   Synonyms: automóvel, carro, veículo

• auto-

Clipping of automòbila.

• (Central Romagnol): IPA^(key): [ˈaɐ̯uto]

auto f (invariable)

1. car

• Synonym: automòbila

• auto-

• Masotti, Adelmo (1999) Vocabolario Romagnolo Italiano (in Italian), Zanichelli

Clipping of automòbīl.

• IPA^(key): /ǎuto/
• Hyphenation: a‧u‧to

àuto m (Cyrillic spelling а̀уто)

1. car, automobile
   • 1989, Vidosav Stevanović, Inicijali:

     Cigareta beše gorka kao pepeo. Sedeo sam u autu (ruke na volanu, glava na rukama) i osluškivao kišu – večan, jednoličan i uvek nov šum, dirljivo dosadan i meni neobično, tužno uzbudljiv; rominjala je šapućući kao starica koja plače na tuđem grobu.

     The cigarette was as bitter as ash. I sat in the car (hands on the steering wheel, head on my hands) and listened to the rain - eternal, monotonous and always new noise, touchingly boring and strangely, sadly exciting for me; she whispered like an old woman crying at someone else's grave.

   Ne možeš da uzmeš auto, jer nema benzina. ― You can’t take the car, because there isn’t any gas.

   Synonym: kola

Note: In Serbia auto/ауто as neuter ("plavo auto" instead of "plavi auto") can occur, but it is substandard.

• “auto” in Hrvatski jezični portal

• IPA^(key): /ˈau̯tɔ/

auto n (genitive singular auta, nominative plural autá, genitive plural áut, declension pattern of mesto)

1. car (automobile, a vehicle steered by a driver)

• auto in Slovak dictionaries at slovnik.juls.savba.sk

• IPA^(key): /ˈauto/ [ˈau̯.t̪o]
• Rhymes: -auto
• Syllabification: au‧to

Shortening of automóvil, from Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”).

auto m (plural autos)

1. (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Uruguay) car, automobile

   Synonyms: automóvil, (Mexico, Central America, Caribbean America, Colombia, Venezuela) carro, (Philippines, Central Mexico, Spain) coche

Early borrowing from Latin actus. Doublet of the later borrowing acto.

auto m (plural autos)

1. (law, formal) order, writ, resolution
2. (literature) short play from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance

• “auto”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Borrowed from Dutch auto, from French auto.

auto c (plural auto's)

1. A car, an automobile.