a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
"he needs a car to get to work"
An automobile.
"He haggled over the price for an auto to get us from the station to our hotel."
An autorickshaw.
In plain English: An auto is another word for a car.
"He bought a new auto last week to get to work faster."
Usage: In everyday usage, particularly in South Asia, "auto" refers to an auto-rickshaw, a small three-wheeled vehicle used for short-distance passenger transport. Do not use this term to mean self-driving or automatic features unless you are specifically referring to the Indian context where it is a common colloquialism for the vehicle itself.
To travel by automobile.
"We decided to auto down to the coast for the weekend instead of taking the train."
In plain English: To auto something means to make it automatic so it happens without you having to do anything.
"You should auto save your changes before closing the document."
Usage: Use "auto" only when someone specifically travels in their own car, not merely driving any vehicle or commuting generally. It is an informal term that emphasizes personal ownership rather than the act of driving itself.
Clipping of automatic. (of a gearbox / transmission)
"The mechanic explained that switching to an auto mode on the manual transmission would let the car shift gears for him without any footwork."
In plain English: Auto means something that is automatic and works on its own without you having to do anything.
"The car has some auto features that adjust the seat automatically."
Usage: Use "auto" only before nouns like "transmission," "shifter," or "drive" to specify that a vehicle operates with an automatic gearbox. Do not use it as a standalone adjective to describe other unrelated concepts, as its meaning is strictly limited to automotive mechanics.
An unincorporated community in West Virginia
"When we drove up from Charleston, our first stop was Auto to pick up some supplies before heading north."
The prefix auto comes from the Ancient Greek word for "self." It entered English through a process called metamorphosis, where speakers began using it independently before it was formally recognized as a distinct element in compound words like automobile or autopilot.