robot

American  

[roh-bot] / ˈroʊ bɒt /

noun

1. a machine that resembles a human and does mechanical, routine tasks on command.

2. a person who acts and responds in a mechanical, routine manner, usually subject to another's will; automaton.

3. any machine or mechanical device that operates automatically with humanlike skill.

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adjective

1. operating automatically.

   a robot train operating between airline terminals.

robot British  

/ ˈrəʊbɒt /

noun

1. any automated machine programmed to perform specific mechanical functions in the manner of a man

2. (modifier) not controlled by man; automatic

   a robot pilot

3. a person who works or behaves like a machine; automaton

4. a set of traffic lights

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robot Scientific  

/ rō′bŏt′ /

1. A machine designed to replace human beings in performing a variety of tasks, either on command or by being programmed in advance.

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Other Word Forms

• robot-like
  adjective
• robotic
  adjective
• robotism
  noun
• robotistic
  adjective
• robotlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of robot

< Czech, coined by Karel Čapek in the play R.U.R. (1920) from the base robot-, as in robota compulsory labor, robotník peasant owing such labor

Explanation

A robot is a mechanical creation that can move or act on its own. Science fiction is full of robots. Also called droids, Cylons, and bots, robots are certainly the stuff of science fiction stories. But there are plenty of real robots out there in the world, using their mechanical smarts to make life easier. There are robots that can vacuum the rug, dance, perform surgery, clean oil spills, and even build cars. The field of robotics is growing all the time. Maybe someday you'll even have that robot butler so many of us have dreamed about.

Example Sentences

In addition to leading the computer-vision team at Tesla, Karpathy also briefly worked on Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot program.

From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026

“Sheep” aspires for Spielbergian catharsis — one scene seems to consider itself an art-house take on “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” — but the human characters come off as mechanical as the little robot boy.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

MLB adopted the pitch clock, banned the infield shift and rolled out robot umpires.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

The company is expanding its robo-taxi service, launched in Austin, Texas, in June, and is converting Fremont, Calif., Model S and X capacity to robot production this year.

From Barron's • May 17, 2026

While the robot swam through the deep, she let out bursts of clicks and hoped that eventually she’d hear them echoing back to her.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown