autonomous

UK: /ɔːˈtɒnəməs/ US: /ɔˈtɑnəməs/ ,(ô ton′ə məs)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

au•ton•o•mous /ɔˈtɑnəməs/   adj. 

1. Government self-governing:
   an autonomous republic.
2. Government able to act on one's own;
   independent:
   With your own business you will be autonomous.

au•ton•o•mous•ly, adv. See -nom-¹.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

au•ton•o•mous  (ô ton′ə məs), adj. 

1. Government
   • self-governing;
     independent;
     subject to its own laws only.
   • pertaining to an autonomy.
2. Government having autonomy;
   not subject to control from outside;
   independent:
   a subsidiary that functioned as an autonomous unit.
3. Biology, Ecology
   • existing and functioning as an independent organism.
   • spontaneous.

• Greek autónomos with laws of one's own, independent, equivalent. to auto- auto-¹ + nóm(os) law, custom + -os adjective, adjectival suffix
• 1790–1800

au•ton′o•mous•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

autonomous / 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. existing as an organism independent of other organisms or parts
5. (of a vehicle, device, etc) able to operate independently
6. a variant form of autonomic3

Etymology: 19th Century: from Greek autonomos living under one's own laws, from auto- + nomos law

auˈtonomously adverb