adverb

• 1(with reference to a device or process) by itself with little or no direct human control.

  ‘the kettle automatically switched off when it boiled’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Blocks begin to cool on the conveyor system, where they are automatically cased into individual boxes.’
  • ‘The next step is to get the irrigation systems to activate automatically in response to real-time field data.’
  • ‘The ball will automatically center itself in the bearing.’
  • ‘The system automatically transfers ingredients from the blending room.’
  • ‘Ice cream products are automatically transferred from the end of their packaging lines.’
  • ‘Sensors automatically adjust air pressure in each airbag for various load conditions.’
  • ‘The sequencer can automatically analyze multiple runs of 96 DNA samples, making unattended 24-hour operation possible.’
  • ‘It is possible to program the box lights to turn off automatically.’
  • ‘They are developing systems that automatically adjust pesticide rates according to the amount of organic matter in the soil.’
  • ‘The recorder can be plugged into a PC and automatically transcribed.’

  1. 1.1(with reference to a firearm) continuously until the ammunition is exhausted or the pressure on the trigger is released.
     ‘the recovered weapons had been illegally modified to fire fully automatically’
     More example sentences

     • ‘The reactivated Uzis could not be fired automatically but could still be fired.’
     • ‘The gun was set to fire automatically and was controlled from the periscope.’
     • ‘When triggered, these firearms will load and fire automatically.’
     • ‘Authorities found more than 200 weapons, some modified to fire automatically.’
     • ‘The group's self-proclaimed leader was struggling to get his machine gun to fire automatically.’
     • ‘His weapon is literally automatic—not in the sense that it shoots automatically, but in the sense that it's automatically there.’
     • ‘A machine gun shoots automatically more than one shot by a single function of the trigger.’
     • ‘Fully automatic firearms, introduced in the late 1800s, automatically reload and fire again.’
     • ‘The terminology refers to firearms capable of firing fully automatically, regardless of size, weight, or other considerations.’
     • ‘This full-size model of a high-powered Luger automatic pistol holds and fires 70 rounds automatically.’

• 2Without conscious thought or attention; spontaneously.

  ‘although I used my best Italian, the receptionists automatically replied in English’

  More example sentences

  • ‘We assume that we have to be completely competent at all times, or we automatically conclude that we are hopelessly incompetent.’
  • ‘When most people think of calcium, they automatically think dairy.’
  • ‘The notion of a "young architects" appropriation automatically conjures up youth, enterprise, discovery.’
  • ‘As they go through their day, small things that most of us do almost automatically can seem more than they can handle.’
  • ‘Instead of automatically reaching for junk foods, we want them to explore healthy alternatives.’
  • ‘Consumers don't automatically feel great just because there is plastic in their hand.’
  • ‘I have an assistant who is a man, and people, new acquaintances, will automatically defer to him in meetings when I should be their primary contact.’
  • ‘With Motorola, people automatically think of it as a phone brand.’
  • ‘He saw the man coming and, automatically, without feeling anything personal or political, threw the grenade.’
  • ‘Their worship was based around ceremonies and rituals which, to its critics, were observed automatically and without thinking.’

  1. 2.1As a necessary and inevitable result of a fixed rule or particular set of circumstances.
     ‘his passport was automatically revoked’
     More example sentences

     • ‘the winners of the Division 2 final are not automatically promoted’
     • ‘Personal experience does not translate automatically into engaging poetry.’
     • ‘The existence of armed forces does not automatically lead to militarization.’
     • ‘Apparently, many Americans do not know that a person born in the United States is automatically American.’
     • ‘The operations of demand do not automatically guarantee full employment.’
     • ‘Any upsurge of nationalist feeling automatically translates into an oppression of what is perceived as other.’
     • ‘Everything she owns is automatically his, and any legal identity she possessed as a property owner disappears.’
     • ‘Our interest in controlling waste function does not automatically produce a concomitant interest in cleanliness, order, and beauty.’
     • ‘Because something is popular doesn't automatically mean it's mediocre.’
     • ‘His desire was to establish a code of laws that would automatically result in people behaving virtuously.’
     • ‘A large space did not automatically constitute an ideal space for writing.’