automate
AW-tuh-meyt
/ˈɔː.tə.meɪt/
To convert a process or facility to operate automatically by using machines, computers, or robots.
Focuses on the transition from manual human labor to machine-driven execution, often with the goal of increasing efficiency, speed, or safety.
The story behind the word. A back-formation from automation, which was coined in 1948 by Ford Motor Company VP Delmar Harder. It traces back to the Greek automatos, meaning 'self-acting' or 'thinking for oneself'.
Word relationships
- mechanize: Mechanize means to provide human workers with machinery to ease physical labor, while automate means to replace human control entirely with computer or machine control.
- systematize: Systematize means to organize a process into a structured system, which can still be executed entirely by humans, whereas automate requires machines.
- manualize: Manualize (or revert to manual) means to return a process to human physical execution.
Commonly confused with
- mechanize: Mechanizing assists human labor with machines; automating removes the need for human labor/control in that process.
Word family
- automation (noun): The use of automatic equipment in a manufacturing or other process.
- automatic (adjective): Working by itself with little or no direct human control.
Collocations
- fully automate
- automate tasks
- automate production
- automate workflow
Example sentences
- "We need to automate our invoicing process to reduce administrative overhead." A business strategy meeting.
- "Many vertical farms now automate the watering and lighting cycles to maximize crop yields." An article on modern agriculture.
Memory hook
To automate is to make a process run on 'auto-pilot'. Automate = Make self-acting.
When not to use
Do not use when a human is still performing the task but simply using a better tool (e.g., switching from a hand saw to a power saw is mechanization, not automation).
Fun facts
- The word 'automation' was so controversial when first introduced in the 1940s that labor unions feared it would immediately eliminate all manufacturing jobs.
Related words
Explore more words
automation, mechanize, modernize, streamline, accelerate, systematize
Also appears in
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