automatic pilot
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. A navigational device: A mechanical or electronic system that automatically controls the course of a vehicle (such as a ship, aircraft, or spacecraft) without constant manual input from a human operator. 2. A mental state: A condition in which a person performs routine actions or tasks without conscious thought or awareness, often due to habit, fatigue, or distraction.
Examples of Usage
- Noun (Device):
- The captain engaged the automatic pilot for the long transoceanic flight.
- Modern ships rely heavily on their automatic pilot systems.
- Noun (Mental State):
- After work, I drove home on automatic pilot.
- She answered the customer's questions while her mind was on automatic pilot.
Advanced Usage
- "on automatic pilot" / "on autopilot": This is the most common idiomatic phrase. It describes performing actions in the mental state defined above.
- I was so tired that I made breakfast on automatic pilot.
- After years of practice, the pianist played the piece on autopilot.
Variants and Related Words
- Autopilot (n): A common shortened, informal form of "automatic pilot," used identically for both definitions.
- The plane's autopilot kept it level.
- My brain is on autopilot today.
Synonyms
- (For the device): Autopilot system, self-steering gear, gyropilot.
- (For the mental state): Unconscious competence, routine, habit, mechanically, without thinking.
Related Idioms
- To be/go on autopilot: To function in the state of performing tasks automatically without active thought. (This is the primary idiom for this word.)
- Don't just go through life on autopilot; make conscious choices.
Noun
- a navigational device that automatically keeps ships or planes or spacecraft on a steady course
- a cognitive state in which you act without self-awareness
- she went about her chores on automatic pilot
- too much of the writing seems to have been done on automatic pilot
- she talked and he dozed and my mind went on autopilot