autonomous

American  

[aw-ton-uh-muhs] / ɔˈtɒn ə məs /

adjective

1. Government.

   1. self-governing; independent; subject to its own laws only.

   2. pertaining to an autonomy, or a self-governing community.

2. having autonomy; not subject to control from outside; independent.

   a subsidiary that functioned as an autonomous unit.

3. (of a machine, device, etc.) able to operate with little or no human control or intervention.

   an autonomous vehicle.

4. Biology.

   1. existing and functioning as an independent organism.

   2. growing naturally or spontaneously, without cultivation.

---

autonomous British  

/ ɔːˈtɒnəməs /

adjective

1. (of a community, country, etc) possessing a large degree of self-government

2. of or relating to an autonomous community

3. independent of others

4. philosophy

   1. acting or able to act in accordance with rules and principles of one's own choosing

   2. (in the moral philosophy of Kant, of an individual's will) directed to duty rather than to some other end Compare heteronomous See also categorical imperative

5. biology existing as an organism independent of other organisms or parts

6. a variant spelling of autonomic

---

Other Word Forms

• autonomously adverb
• nonautonomous adjective
• nonautonomousness noun

Etymology

Origin of autonomous

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Greek autónomos “with laws of one's own, independent,” equivalent to auto- auto- ¹ + nóm(os) “law, custom” + -os adjective suffix

Example Sentences

Among other things, elevator companies are integrating their systems with autonomous robots that will ride elevators and navigate buildings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

WeRide is likely to reinforce its first-mover advantages, such as level 4 autonomous driving technology, strong unit economics, and deep engagement with industry regulators, they say.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Military spending around the globe is increasing, but traditional prime contractors are facing competition from so-called neo-primes that want to disrupt the sector with low-cost, autonomous battle systems.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

Those include a joint Terafab chip-making project, autonomous robotaxi services and humanoid robots that could eventually be useful both on factory floors and in the kitchen.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

The building of organs and structures, Lewis concluded, is encoded by master-regulatory “effector” genes that work like autonomous units or subroutines.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• self-governing
• sovereign