Atm

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A machine that allows the withdrawal or deposit of cash by accessing a bank account
2. an automated device offering banking services, typically found in public places
3. a technology enabling users to perform financial transactions electronically and conveniently without bank staff

Etymology: The abbreviation "ATM" stands for "automated teller machine," and it is one of the few everyday English terms whose origin is a plain description of what the thing does: a machine that tellers, the bank staff who handled cash across a counter, were replaced by. The phrase "automated teller" has no older history of its own. Automation in the sense of machines doing work once done by people is a twentieth-century idea, and the "teller" part gives the name its human reference point, since the machine performs the cash-dispensing role of a bank clerk without one being present. The abbreviation "ATM" is simply the initials of that phrase, pronounced as separate letters, which is why it is written in capitals. The lowercase form "atm" is a variant of the same abbreviation, used when case is not kept, such as in informal writing or search queries.

Synonyms: automated teller machine, cash machine, cash dispenser, bank machine, money machine