automate
verb
What automate means
To make a machine or program do a job by itself, without a person.
We automated the weekly report.
You can automate boring tasks with a simple script.
Test yourself
Five questions about automate
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Question 1 of 5Meaning
What does automate mean?
When you automate a job, you set up a machine or a program so that it does the work on its own, and nobody has to do it by hand.
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Question 2 of 5Situation
Every Monday, Ana spent an hour copying numbers into a report by hand. Now a small program does the whole job for her. She has ___ the report.
A program now does the job without a person, so Ana has automated it. Outsourcing means paying another company to do the work for you.
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Question 3 of 5Gap
Many banks now use software to ___ simple checks that staff used to do by hand.
Staff used to do the checks by hand, and now software does them by itself, which is what it means to automate a task.
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Question 4 of 5Opposite
Which is the opposite of automating a task?
When you automate a task, a machine does it without a person. The opposite is doing it by hand, when a person does all the work.
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Question 5 of 5Correct use
Which sentence uses automate correctly?
Automate takes a direct object with no of, as in automate the invoices. Automation is a noun, and doing something by hand is the opposite of automating it.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer, Enter goes on.
Automate in a sentence
5 more examples of automate in everyday situations.
- At work
We automated invoice reminders, so nobody has to send them by hand.
- At home
You can automate your lights so they turn on when it gets dark.
- In factories
The car factory automated most of its painting line last year.
- Passive
Most of the checking is now automated.
- Talking about jobs
Automation could change a lot of office jobs in the next ten years.
How to use automate
Automate saves time on repeated tasks. The noun is automation. Automatic is the adjective: an automatic door.
Some people worry that automation takes jobs, while others see it as a way to remove boring work.
Forms
- automateshe, she, it
- automatedpast, past participle and adjective
- automating-ing form
- automationnoun
- automaticadjective
- automaticallyadverb
Patterns
- automate something
- automate a process / task
- be fully automated
- an automated email / system
Common mistakes with automate
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NotWe automatised the process.
SayWe automated the process.
The verb is automate, not automatise.
Automate or automatic?
- automate or automatic
- Automatic is the adjective for something that works by itself, like an automatic door; automate is the verb for making a job work that way.
Automate is a C1 word. Is that your level? Take the level test or count the words you know.
Automate word family and collocations
The words that go with automate, so you can use it in a whole phrase.
Common collocations
- automate tasks
- automate a process
- fully automated
- automate reports
- industrial automation
Word family
- automate (verb)
- automation (noun)
- automatic (adjective)
- automatically (adverb)
Similar words
- make automatic
Questions about automate
What is the noun of automate?
The noun is automation: “Automation saves the team about ten hours a week.” Automated is often used as an adjective, as in “an automated message”.
Is it automate or automatize?
Automate is the normal word. Forms like automatize or automatise are rare, and most speakers hear them as mistakes, so it is best to avoid them.
What does an automated message mean?
It is a message sent by a computer system without a person writing it, such as an order confirmation or an out-of-office reply.
The word before
Do you still remember overbooked?
One question about the word from 21 October. Remembering a word a day later helps it stay.
One question
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What does overbooked mean?
When a flight or a hotel is overbooked, the company has sold more tickets or rooms than it really has, so some people may not get a place.
Keys 1 to 4 pick an answer.
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