Skip to main content
automobile

automobile

334 1.1
A vehicle with four wheels and an engine that carries people on roads
  • noun
  • /ˈɔːtəməˌbiːl/
translation icon : automóvil
  • That's a 50,000 dollar automobile, you know.
  • automobile trade
  • automobile industry
  • automobile exports

And the automobile, the introduction of the automobile changed life utterly.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Some of these parts are then reexported as completed automobiles to the United States.

    Academic text (1990)
  • You get to deduct the use of your automobile for its business use portion.

  • You could actually use an automobile as a living room.

  • We're investigating an automobile accident.

  • And the automobile, the introduction of the automobile changed life utterly.

  • Thirty minutes later, she was inside the dirtiest automobile she had ever seen.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • He told me that nobody ever tries to start an automobile company from scratch.

  • Still others will become needed carpenters, plumbers, automobile mechanics, and other highly valued individuals.

    Academic text (1999)
  • I hope you don't think we have a fleet of automobiles at our disposal.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The automobile was crafted with advanced safety features to protect its passengers.

Synonyms

car
vsautomobile
1.0

A road vehicle with four wheels and an engine that carries people

is the more formal or technical name for the same vehicle
vehicle
vsautomobile
1.6

A machine like a car or bus that carries people and goods

is narrower, focusing on engine powered four wheeled road transport
auto
vsautomobile
534 1.0

A car that people drive to go places

is the fuller or more formal word used in neutral contexts
motor vehicle
vsautomobile
27 1.5

A machine like a car or bus that moves on roads and has an engine

is about four wheeled road transport mainly for carrying people
motorcar
vsautomobile
9 1.0

A four-wheeled vehicle that carries people

is broader, not limited to specific engine types
set of wheels
vsautomobile
  • Informal
8 5.0

A car or other vehicle someone owns

is the standard neutral term, not slang or playful
wheeled vehicle
vsautomobile
2 2.6

A machine with wheels that carries people or goods

is narrower, meaning engine powered road transport mainly for people
automotive vehicle
vsautomobile
1 3.0

A machine with wheels like a car or bus that moves on roads

is specifically a four wheeled road machine for carrying people
autocar
vsautomobile
  • Archaic
9.6

A kind of early car that uses an engine to carry people

is the modern standard term rather than the historical label

Compounds

Companies and factories that make cars and car parts

Money you pay so the company pays for loss and damage to your car after theft or an accident

A flow of cars moving on roads and streets

automobile engine
  • Specialized
1 2.7

A machine that makes a car move by using fuel or electricity

A person who drives a car, especially in races at high speed

A factory that makes cars

A device on a car that makes a loud sound to warn people

A loan to buy a car that you pay back with interest over time

A person who fixes and looks after cars

A competition where fast cars race on a closed track

A car that runs on power from batteries instead of gasoline

A rubber covering on a car wheel that gives grip and makes the ride smoother

automobile battery
  • Specialized
3.4

A large rechargeable device that stores electric energy to drive an electric or hybrid car and power its systems

automobile battery
  • Specialized
2.7

A rechargeable device that stores electric energy to start a car and run its lights and radio

Car insurance where each driver gets money from their own insurance company after a crash, no matter who caused it

How Big

truck
  • US
1.0
van
676 1.0
SUV
100 2.7
automobile
334 1.1
compact car
  • US
4 2.8
motorbike
27 1.6

Surface Forms

automobile singular
automobiles plural
automobiles plural
automobile singular

Morphology

automobile = mobile (semi-transparent) = auto + mobile

The word is built from the recognizable elements 'auto-' meaning 'self' and 'mobile' meaning 'able to move', but the full vehicle sense is lexicalized rather than a fully productive everyday derivation.

Etymology

Automobile comes from two parts: auto- meaning 'self', the same auto- you see in automatic, and mobile meaning 'move', the same mobile used in 'mobile phone'. So an automobile is a 'self-moving' vehicle, a car that moves by its own engine.