What does automation mean?
Automation is the practice of using machinery, computer software, or robotic systems to perform tasks that would otherwise require human effort or supervision. Originally applied to factories — where automated assembly lines transformed manufacturing in the twentieth century — the word now extends far beyond industry, describing everything from automated banking services and email marketing to self-driving vehicles and software that tests code overnight. The term is uncountable and appears most often in technical, business, and journalistic writing. Connotations vary with context: automation can signal efficiency, consistency, cost savings, and freedom from drudgery, yet it also raises concerns about unemployment and over-reliance on machines. Its power lies in capturing a defining trend of the modern world — the steady transfer of work from human hands to systems that run themselves. Related words include automate (verb), automated (adjective), and automaton, its older relative for a self-moving machine.
nounThe use of largely automatic equipment or systems in a factory, office, or other setting, so that processes formerly done by hand or with direct human control are carried out by machines or computers. More broadly, the technique of making any process operate automatically, with minimal human intervention.
- The use of automatic machinery and computer systems to carry out manufacturing or industrial processes with minimal human intervention.
- More broadly: the technique or practice of making any process (in business, computing, testing, etc.) operate automatically rather than manually.
"Automation of the assembly line allowed the factory to double its output without hiring additional workers."
"Advances in robotics have made automation central to modern car manufacturing."
"The team used test automation to check thousands of lines of code overnight."
Rarely pluralized; 'automation' is normally treated as uncountable. A plural form exists mainly in technical writing referring to individual automated routines or scripts.
"The platform lets developers manage hundreds of automations from a single dashboard."
The word 'automation' was reportedly coined by an American engineer at Ford Motor Company in the 1940s — meaning one of the defining ideas of our age is younger than sliced bread.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of automation
Automation derives ultimately from the Greek 'automatos', meaning 'self-acting' or 'moving of itself', which entered Latin as 'automatus'. It was popularized in the 1940s at the Ford Motor Company as an engineering term for the use of automatic devices in production. It is thus closely related to 'automaton', 'automatic', and 'autonomous', all sharing the same Greek root.
Related word forms
How automation is actually used
Automation is an uncountable noun in most contexts; it takes no plural in ordinary usage. It is neutral to slightly technical in register, common in business, engineering, and journalism. It often carries connotations of efficiency and progress, though it can also evoke anxiety about job losses.
Easily confused with automation
An automaton is a mechanical figure or device that imitates human or animal action, while automation is the general process or technique of making systems run automatically.
Autonomy means self-governance or independence (of a person or region), whereas automation refers to machines performing tasks with minimal human involvement.