Spanish word

automóvil

Pronunciation

IPA/awtoˈmoβil/

Meaning

  • masculine nouncar

Example

Mi automóvil está en el taller.

My car is at the repair shop.

Illustration for automóvil (car)

More examples

Hoy voy a poner gasolina al automóvil.

Today I'm going to put gasoline in the car.

Core concept

Four-wheeled motor vehicle for carrying passengers.

Common phrases

  • conducir el automóvil

    drive the car

  • poner gasolina al automóvil

    put gasoline in the car

  • lavar el automóvil

    wash the car

Similar words

coche: Compact, practical four-wheeled motor vehicle for carrying people and small loads.
auto: Informal four-wheeled motor vehicle typical of casual spoken usage.
vehículo: General category of vehicles that carry people or goods on land.
carro: Everyday four-wheeled motor vehicle commonly used and owned in Latin America.

Definition in Spanish

Vehículo de motor destinado principalmente al transporte de personas por carretera.

Word origin

Derives from French automobile (auto- 'self' + móvil 'moving'), literally 'self-moving', and is used in Spanish to name a self-propelled vehicle.

Usage tips

  • Automóvil is relatively formal; common everyday words are coche in Spain and carro or auto in many Latin American countries, and verbs differ too (conducir in Spain, manejar in much of Latin America).

Other meanings

  • passenger carnoun

Related words

  • automovilistamotoristnoun
  • automovilísticoautomotiveadjective

Word lists with this word