self-acting

American  

[self-ak-ting] / ˈsɛlfˈæk tɪŋ /

adjective

1. acting by itself; automatic.

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self-acting British  

adjective

1. not requiring an external influence or control to function; automatic

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Other Word Forms

• self-action noun

Etymology

Origin of self-acting

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

Its new rule said bump stocks were illegal machine guns because they function as “a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism that allows the firing of multiple rounds through a single function of the trigger.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2024

It said the bump stock device functions as “a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism that allows the firing of multiple rounds through a single pull of the trigger.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 3, 2023

If the proper study of mankind be man,—which, of course, includes woman,—we are throwing a precious deal of time away on centrifugal pumps, sewing-machines, and self-acting razors.

From The Dodd Family Abroad, Vol. II by Lever, Charles James

Children and young persons may not be allowed to work between the fixed and traversing parts of a self-acting machine while the machine is in motion.

From Boy Labour and Apprenticeship by Bray, Reginald Arthur

There were no skilled workmen to be had, no self-acting tools, as in our day, and so the first model was only partly successful.

From The Boyhood of Great Inventors by Robertson, A. Fraser