What does automobile mean?
An automobile is a wheeled road vehicle designed to carry a small number of passengers, propelled by its own engine or motor rather than by animals or human effort. The term combines the Greek root "autos," meaning self, with "mobile," meaning movable, so an automobile is literally a self-moving vehicle. While "automobile" is the standard term in legal, industrial, and journalistic contexts — as in "the automobile industry" — everyday conversation favors the shorter word "car." The invention and mass production of the automobile in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries reshaped modern life, transforming cities, economies, and patterns of travel. Today the word covers vehicles powered by both gasoline engines and electric motors, though it is increasingly heard in historical or formal registers. Its derivatives appear in compound terms such as "automotive," which relates to the industry as a whole.
nounA road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor and capable of carrying a small number of passengers.
- A road vehicle with four wheels, powered by an engine or motor, used for transporting passengers.
"The automobile transformed American life in the twentieth century."
"Henry Ford's assembly line made the automobile affordable to ordinary families."
"She has restored vintage automobiles as a hobby for over twenty years."
Regular plural; standard in all contexts.
"Electric automobiles now account for a growing share of new registrations."
The word "automobile" is a hybrid no linguist would design today: it welds Greek "autos" (self) onto French "mobile" (moving) — two languages in one machine.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of automobile
The word "automobile" was formed in French in the nineteenth century from the Greek "autos" (self) combined with the French "mobile" (movable), itself from the Latin "mobilis." It entered English in the second half of the nineteenth century, initially applied to self-propelled vehicles before being firmly attached to the petrol-driven passenger cars that emerged in the 1880s and 1890s. The same Greek root appears in words like "autonomy" and "automatic," while the Latin root "mobilis" underlies "mobility" and "mobilize."
How automobile is actually used
"Automobile" is the formal, technical term; in everyday speech, English speakers almost always say "car." The word remains common in legal contexts, industry names (e.g., the automobile industry), journalism, and North American usage generally, where it carries a slightly more formal register than "car." In British English, "motor car" historically served the same role but is now largely old-fashioned.
Easily confused with automobile
"Mobile" as an adjective means capable of moving or easily moved (or as a noun, a decorative hanging sculpture), while "automobile" refers specifically to a self-propelled passenger road vehicle.