automobile

[aw-tuh-muh-beel, aw-tuh-muh-beel, aw-tuh-moh-beel, -buh l] /ˌɔ tə məˈbil, ˈɔ tə məˌbil, ˌɔ təˈmoʊ bil, -bəl/
noun
1.
a passenger vehicle designed for operation on ordinary roads and typically having four wheels and a gasoline or diesel internal-combustion engine.
See also hybrid (def 5b).
adjective
2.
of or pertaining to automobiles; automotive.
Origin
1865-70; < French: literally, self-movable (vehicle). See auto-1, mobile
Related forms
automobilist
[aw-tuh-muh-bee-list, -moh-bi-list] /ˌɔ tə məˈbi lɪst, -ˈmoʊ bɪ lɪst/ (Show IPA), noun
Examples from the web for automobile
  • automobile transportation companies can be hired in order to take care of getting your vehicle to your overseas destination.
  • News about automobile registration and license plates.
  • Furniture and automobile price increases were the biggest upward movers.
  • The government allocates to the automobile giants money under modernization of manufacture.
  • If you are trying to finance a new automobile with a five-year loan, you may find it more difficult to get one these days.
  • The comparison of the university to the automobile industry is a dog that doesn't quite have any teeth.
  • In many ways, the device resembles a combustion cylinder in a standard automobile engine, though without a piston.
  • We have more automobile plants than the north, and many other factories as many have moved south.
  • All the subsystems of every type of automobile had to be worked out.
  • Determining exactly what causes automobile accidents is far more difficult than it first appears, researchers say.
British Dictionary definitions for automobile

automobile

/ˈɔːtəməˌbiːl/
noun
1.
another word (esp US) for car (sense 1)
Derived Forms
automobilist (ˌɔːtəməˈbiːlɪst; -ˈməʊbɪlɪst) noun
Word Origin and History for automobile
adj.

1883, in reference to electric traction cars, from French automobile (adj.), 1861, a hybrid from Greek autos "self" (see auto-) + French mobile "moving," from Latin mobilis "movable" (see mobile (adj.)).

n.

"self-propelled motor vehicle," 1895, from French automobile, short for véhicule automobile (see automobile (adj.)). The modern Greek calls it autokineto "moved of itself." The French word had competition in the early years from locomobile; in English other early forms were motorcar and autocar.