An
autotransformer (sometimes called
autostep down transformer) is an electrical
transformer with only one
winding. The "" (Greek for "self") prefix refers to the single coil acting on itself and not to any kind of
automatic mechanism. In an autotransformer, portions of the same winding act as both the
primary and
secondary sides of the transformer. In contrast, an ordinary transformer has separate
primary and
secondary windings which are not connected.