autopilot

C2 Topic:Aviation & Flight

US /ˈɔtoʊˌpaɪlət/ UK /ˈɔːtəʊˌpaɪlət/ See IPA manual

Freq #22335

Meanings

1

noun
A system that automatically steers a vehicle, plane, or ship without a person controlling it.

Once at cruising altitude, the pilot switched on the autopilot.
2

noun
A state in which you do things automatically, without really thinking about them.

By the end of the long shift she was running on autopilot.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a system that automatically... automatic pilot

2 noun · a state in which you do... automatic pilot

Word family

Related forms automatic

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

on autopilot
Acting through habit with little conscious attention.

Preposition + noun

Etymology

From auto- + pilot.

Topics

Aviation & Flight Abstract Ideas

External links

# autopilot

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɔtoʊˌpaɪlət/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɔːtəʊˌpaɪlət/
**Frequency rank:** 22335

## Meanings
1. A system that automatically steers a vehicle, plane, or ship without a person controlling it.
2. A state in which you do things automatically, without really thinking about them.

## Examples
- Once at cruising altitude, the pilot switched on the autopilot.
- By the end of the long shift she was running on autopilot.

## Related Forms
- automatic

## Etymology
From auto- + pilot.

## AI Etymology
Autopilot is formed from auto- + pilot. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern form is built from the named base and affix. Current senses include a system that automatically steers a vehicle, plane, or ship without a person controlling it and a state in which you do things automatically, without really thinking about them. The wider family includes related words such as automatic.

## Topics
- Aviation & Flight
- Abstract Ideas

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