auto

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːtəʊ/, [ˈɔː.təʊ]

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈɔtoʊ/, [ˈɔ.ɾoʊ]
  • (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɑtoʊ/, [ˈɑ.ɾoʊ]

    • Audio (Southern California):

      (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈoːtəʉ/, [ˈoː.təʉ], /ˈoːtɐʉ/, [ˈoː.tɐʉ]
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈoːtɐʉ/, [ˈoː.tɐʉ]
• Rhymes: -ɔːtəʊ
• Hyphenation: au‧to
• Homophones: Otto, otto (cot–caught merger)

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

auto (not comparable)

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

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

   • 2023 December 1, Evelynn Kersting, “GAMES AND TIME”, in University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee‎^[1], page 250‎^[2], archived from the original on 6 June 2025:

     For the first eight years of the Tetris Championship Series, the eventual victor used a technique known as delayed auto shift, or "DAS."

auto (countable and uncountable, plural autos)

2. (now chiefly attributive) Clipping of automobile.

   My brother is an auto mechanic. He can get me a discount on auto parts.

   In 1909, his grandfather was the first farmer in the county to buy an auto.

   • 2024 December 17, Chris Isidore, “The retreat from the world’s largest auto market has begun”, in CNN‎^[3]:

     “There were golden years for GM in China, but those are over, and they’ll never have a comeback story,” said Michael Dunne, an auto industry consultant who has been involved in Western automakers’ efforts in China since the 1990s, including GM’s entry into the market.

   • 2025 March 5, John Towfighi, “US stocks rally on Trump’s tariff exemption for autos”, in CNN‎^[4]:

     “We spoke with the Big Three auto dealers. We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” President Donald Trump said in a statement read by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a press briefing Wednesday. Those dealers included Stellantis, Ford and General Motors.

3. (uncountable) A setting for automatic operation.

   Synonym: automatic

   Antonym: manual

   Put it on auto.

4. (automotive) 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.

5. (automotive) 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 (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.

• IPA^(key): /au̯to/ [au̯.t̪o]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -au̯to, -o
• Hyphenation: au‧to

auto inan

1. automobile, car

   Synonyms: kotxe, beribil

   Xabier auto berria erosi du. ― Xabier has bought a new car.

• “auto”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “auto”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Clipping of automòbil.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈaw.tu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈaw.to]

auto m (plural autos)

1. car; automobile

• “auto”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “auto”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “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

Clipping of automobil.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈau̯to]
• Hyphenation: au‧to

auto n (diminutive autíčko)

1. car, automobile

• “auto”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “auto”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “auto”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Borrowed from French auto, from automobile. By surface analysis, clipping of automobiel.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑu̯.toː/, /ˈoː.toː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: au‧to

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

1. car, automobile

   Synonyms: automobiel, bak, kar, wagen, waggie

   Hyponym: oldtimer

• → Aukan: oto
• → Caribbean Hindustani: oto
• → Caribbean Javanese: oto
• → Indonesian: oto
• → Lokono: ôto
• → 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.

Declension of auto (ÕS type 16/pere, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		auto	autod
accusative	nom.
	gen.	auto
genitive			autode
partitive		autot	autosid
illative		autosse	autodesse
inessive		autos	autodes
elative		autost	autodest
allative		autole	autodele
adessive		autol	autodel
ablative		autolt	autodelt
translative		autoks	autodeks
terminative		autoni	autodeni
essive		autona	autodena
abessive		autota	autodeta
comitative		autoga	autodega

Clipping of automobiili; see it for more.

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

• “auto”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[5] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

• auot, outa

Clipping of automobile.

• IPA^(key): /o.to/, /ɔ.to/

• Audio:

  (file)

auto f (plural autos)

1. car

   Synonyms: automobile, voiture

• → Armenian: օթո (ōtʻo)
• → Mauritian Creole: loto
• → Moroccan Arabic: لوطو (lūṭu)
• → Turkish: oto
• → Vietnamese: ô tô

• août

Borrowed from Finnish auto.

auto

1. car

Even inflection in -o[1]
	singular	plural
Nominative	auto	autoh
Accusative	auto	autoid
Genitive	auto	autoi
Illative	auton	autoid
Locative	autost	autoin
Comitative	autoin	autoiguin
Abessive	autottáá	autoittáá
Essive	auton	—
Partitive	autod	—

• avdo

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

auto (plural autos)

1. car, automobile

   Synonym: automobile

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.u.to/^[1]
• Rhymes: -auto
• Hyphenation: à‧u‧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

• atto (Venezuela)

From Proto-Cariban *ôwtô; compare Wayana ëutë, Waiwai ïwtï, Akawaio öutö, Macushi ewîtî, Pemon autö, Ye'kwana öttö.

• (Venezuela, West Suriname) IPA^(key): [awto]
• (East Suriname) IPA^(key): [awhto]

auto (possessed auty)

1. house, hut
2. home, dwelling in general

• Courtz, Hendrik (2008) A Carib grammar and dictionary‎^[6], Toronto: Magoria Books, →ISBN, page 248
• Ahlbrinck, Willem (1931) “auto”, in Encyclopaedie der Karaïben, Amsterdam: Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen, page 117; republished as Willem Ahlbrinck, Doude van Herwijnen, transl., L'Encyclopédie des Caraïbes‎^[7], Paris, 1956, page 117

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈau̯.toː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈaːu̯.t̪o]

autō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of autus

Shortened form of automašīna.

• Audio:

  (file)

auto m (invariable)

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

   Synonyms: automašīna, mašīna

See aut.

auto

1. inflection of autais:
   1. vocative/accusative/instrumental singular masculine/feminine
   2. genitive plural masculine/feminine

auto

1. car

• avoto

Inherited from Latin altus.

auto (feminine singular auta, masculine plural aute, feminine plural aute)

1. tall
2. high (positionally)

auto

1. high

• Giacco, Giuseppe (2003) “àuto-a”, in Schedario Napoletano

Borrowed from German Auto.

• IPA^(key): /ˈaw.tɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -awtɔ
• Syllabification: au‧to
• Homophone: auto-

auto n (diminutive autko)

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)
5. document that is part of a lawsuit or court case
6. narration or description of an event made by a public authority and which serves as evidence of such event (e.g. a traffic citation)

• (public deed): auto-da-fé

Clipping of automóvel.

auto m (plural autos)

1. (Portugal) 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 (1996) Vocabolario Romagnolo Italiano [Romagnol-Italian dictionary] (in Italian), Bologna: Zanichelli, page 46

Clipping of automòbīl.

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

àuto m inan or n (Cyrillic spelling а̀уто)

1. car, automobile

   Synonym: kola

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

   • 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.

• While the masculine form is preferred across all standards, the neuter gender is often found both in Serbian and Croatian dialects ("plavo auto" instead of "plavi auto"). In some regions (e.g. parts of Dalmatia), the word is almost always used in its neuter form. When the word is used with neuter gender, the declension changes accordingly.

• “auto”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

• IPA^(key): /ˈau̯tɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

auto n (relational adjective autový, diminutive autíčko)

1. car

• “auto”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

• IPA^(key): /ˈauto/ [ˈau̯.t̪o]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -auto
• Syllabification: au‧to

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

auto m (plural autos)

1. (Southern Cone, Andes, Mexico, Philippines) car, automobile

   Synonyms: automóvil, (Mexico, Central America, Caribbean America, Colombia, Venezuela) carro, (Philippines, 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 [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Borrowed from Dutch auto, from French auto.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔu̯toː/

auto c (plural auto's)

1. A car, an automobile.