Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "automobile" []

  • A self-propelled passenger vehicle that usually has four wheels and an internal-combustion engine, used for land transport. Also called motorcar. (noun)
  • Of or relating to automobiles; automotive. (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.

Use "automobile" in a sentence
  • "Before the word automobile entered the lexicon, people talked about horseless carriages."
  • "And of course we become attached more easily to self moving things and creatures it's a pity the term automobile is taken in a way that is less common with plants and inanimate objects."
  • "The fact that Standard Oil made gasoline cheap instead of expensive during the early development of the automobile is the reason we didn't drive battery-electric cars (of which there were more in 1900 than gasoline powered cars) for the last century."