What does automaton mean?
Word: Automaton
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Automaton means a machine, often shaped like a person or animal, that moves on its own.
How do you spell automaton?
Syllables: au - tom - a - ton
Tricky part: The last syllable is weak, so it could be heard as an or en. The vowel is o.
Watch out for: automatan, automaten
Memory tip: It moves once it is switched on, and on is exactly how it ends.
Automaton in a sentence
Example 1: At the museum a brass automaton bowed and played a tiny flute.
Example 2: The mechanic spent a year repairing the old clockwork automaton.
Example 3: By the end of the long shift he felt like an automaton.
Fun Fact
In the 1770s the Swiss watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz built a doll-sized automaton that dips a quill in ink and writes a short message. It can still be seen working in a museum in Neuchatel.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt one:
1. lethargic 2. dexterity 3. autumaton 4. sagacious
a) a device built to act by itself
b) showing wisdom and sound judgement
c) having very little energy
d) great skill with the hands
Show answer
a) a device built to act by itself. Look at autumaton: the vowel after the t should be an o.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word automaton as used in the sentence:
The toy maker's automaton walked across the table and waved at the children.
a) statue
b) lever
c) robot
d) puppet
Show answer
c) robot. A robot is also a machine that can carry out movements by itself.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters to find the word that fits the sentence:
Visitors crowded round the clockwork ontumoaat to watch it pour a cup of tea.
a) automaton
b) automobile
c) automatic
d) autonomy
Show answer
a) automaton. The letters hold two a's, two o's and two t's, and only one option matches that.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
a_to_a_on
a) u,m,d
b) o,m,t
c) u,m,t
d) u,n,t
Show answer
c) u,m,t. Each gap keeps the letters of automatic.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What would a museum of automata most likely display?
a) a collection of rare stamps and coins
b) a shelf of handwritten letters from poets
c) a set of old paintings of famous kings
d) a clockwork bird that sings when wound up
Show answer
d) a clockwork bird that sings when wound up
2. Someone who works like an automaton is
a) acting without thought or feeling
b) enjoying each task very much
c) asking many careful questions
d) slowly learning a difficult skill
Show answer
a) acting without thought or feeling
