animatronics
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of animatronics
1975–80; blend of animate and electronics
Explanation
The art of making mechanical creatures that look like animals is called animatronics. If you create a robotic cat, you've mastered the technique of animatronics. Before computer animation became versatile and sophisticated, many movies used animatronics to create the illusion that people were interacting with dinosaurs or imaginary creatures. Animals created using animatronics are robotic, but they appear fairly realistic. Walt Disney was the first film director to use animatronics, in the 1960s,though he originally called the technique Audio-Animatronics.
Vocabulary lists containing animatronics
Speak Your Mind: Anim
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for December 9–December 15, 2023
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anim
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An outside expert in animatronics, who typically works in television and theater, gives them an annual tuneup.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025
Using animatronics and other tools, many of these practical critters moved and appeared to even breathe, causing more than a few of us to scream in surprise.
From Salon • Jul. 17, 2025
The resort, which also includes three hotels, features technologically-advanced animatronics and detailed rides like Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, which showcases many of Universal’s monsters.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2025
Designers Adrien Morot and Kathy Tse on animatronics, AI and a house style that’s won over Hollywood.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2025
Locating their backup units was a little trickier, but years of hanging out at the Hall of Presidents while Lil tinkered with the animatronics helped me.
From Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Doctorow, Cory
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
