How to use autopilot in a sentence

10 example sentences · noun, verb

Autopilot means a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. Example: “I set the autopilot to due south, so I could get some rest.”

Examples of autopilot by meaning

nounA mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being.

I set the autopilot to due south, so I could get some rest.

nounA state of mind where one no longer thinks about doing one's actions, but acts mechanically.

I've been doing this 12 hours non-stop, and am so hungry and tired that I've stopped thinking: I'm now on autopilot.
But while the wackiness gets exasperating fast (a running joke about Hazel’s father, played by Ray Romano on autopilot, having a sex doll for a wife is even unfunnier than it sounds), Milioti works overtime to keep us invested.2021 March 31, Benjamin Lee, “Made for Love review – Black Mirror-esque comedy needs an upgrade”, in The Guardian

More sentences with autopilot

The pilot had to disable the autopilot of his airplane.From the entry disable
Another difficulty has been that autopilots are designed for ordinary flying.1951, Popular Science, March issue, page 46. From the entry wring out
Once this Fantasyland had kicked in, he would be on autopilot: all the necessary motivation would be provided for him.1997, Jay Gummerman, Chez Chance, page 174. From the entry fantasyland
Watch the pitch trim and be ready to punch off the autopilot if it starts to mistrim the aircraft.1972 April, Ed Ross, “Transports in Turbulence”, in The MAC Flyer, volume 19, number 4, page 8. From the entry mistrim
I've been struggling for weeks to build an "inbox autopilot" tool capable of responding to my emails automatically, in my writing style.2025 February 27, “Not a Coder? With A.I., Just Having an Idea Can Be Enough.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times…. From the entry third-party
After the autopilot was disconnected, the aircraft drifted above the glide path, and twice the captain coached the first officer to get the aircraft down to the glide path.1999 April 15, Transportation Safety Board of Canada, “1.1 History of the Flight”, in Aviation Investigation Report A97H0011, Loss of…. From the entry go-around
The frequency of a ship collision with a fixed object or a ship depends on the hypothetical frequency of ship collision with fixed autopilots and the probability of mismaneuver.1982 ·, IABSE Reports - Volume 42, page 91. From the entry mismaneuver

Meaning of autopilot

noun A mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being.
noun A state of mind where one no longer thinks about doing one's actions, but acts mechanically.
verb To pilot itself; to drive or travel automatically.

Full definition of autopilot

Questions about autopilot in a sentence

How do you use autopilot in a sentence?: Autopilot is used as a noun and verb. For example: “I set the autopilot to due south, so I could get some rest.”
What is a short sentence with autopilot?: “The pilot had to disable the autopilot of his airplane.”
What does autopilot mean?: Autopilot means a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being.

Adapted from Wiktionary: autopilot (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use autopilot in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/autopilot. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.