automobile
/ˈɔː.tə.məˌbiːl/ · au·to·mo·bile
noun
- A self‑propelled road vehicle designed to carry a driver and a small number of passengers. She bought a new automobile to commute to work each day.
verb
- To travel by automobile. We decided to automobile to the countryside instead of taking the train.
adjective
- Self‑moving; self‑propelled. The exhibition featured an automobile sculpture that moved on its own.
Did you know? The word 'automobile' was popularized after Karl Benz's 1885 Motorwagen, but the term itself was first used in French in 1868.