Definition of "automatic" []

• Acting or operating in a manner essentially independent of external influence or control: an automatic light switch; a budget deficit that triggered automatic spending cuts. (adjective)
• Self-regulating: an automatic washing machine. (adjective)
• Acting or done without volition or conscious control; involuntary: automatic shrinking of the pupils of the eyes in strong light. See Synonyms at spontaneous. (adjective)
• Acting or done as if by machine; mechanical: an automatic reply to a familiar question. (adjective)
• Capable of firing continuously until ammunition is exhausted or the trigger is released: an automatic rifle. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "No effort is required to dissolve them, which is the meaning of the term automatic liberation (rang-grol, self-liberation)."
• "The term automatic data capture is also known as automatic identification and data capture."
• "1 The term 'automatic telephone dialing system' means equipment which uses a random or sequential number generator to produce telephone numbers to be called and to dial such numbers.'"