A facility by which something unwound is automatically rewound; specifically the facility by which a film or tape is automatically wound back to the start when the end is reached.
Origin
1940s; earliest use found in The Los Angeles Times.
Definition of auto-rewind in US English:
auto-rewind
nounˌɔːtə(ʊ)ˈriːwʌɪnd
A facility by which something unwound is automatically rewound; specifically the facility by which a film or tape is automatically wound back to the start when the end is reached.
Origin
1940s; earliest use found in The Los Angeles Times.