android
noun
an automaton in the form of a human being.
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android
American
[an-droid]
/ ˈæn drɔɪd /
noun
-
androids
plural
Android
1
British
/ ˈændrɔɪd /
noun
-
a software package for smartphones, including many application programs
-
a smartphone that uses this software
android
2
British
/ ˈændrɔɪd /
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of android
From the New Latin word androīdēs, dating back to 1720–30. See andr-, -oid
Compare meaning
How does android compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An android is a robot that looks and acts like a human being. Sometimes they have fake skin that looks so real you can’t tell the difference. For all you know, the person sitting next to you is an android. Life’s biggest question: What’s the difference between cyborgs and androids? Cyborgs are humans with robot parts added to them, and androids start as robots and then get designed to look like humans. The Latin root androides literally means “resembling a man,” and androids really know how to blend in. Androids mostly appear in science fiction novels and films, but who knows, maybe you’re friends with an android and you don’t even know it. Yet.
Vocabulary lists containing android
Science Fiction Lingo
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A Very Large Expanse of Sea
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Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
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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.
See Examples For:
But an android that can do a bit of everything is still years off.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
When audiences last saw Vision, the reconstructed android had just regained his memories and, presumably, his sentience, before flying off into the unknown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2026
In “Predator: Badlands,” that involved giving an ugly monster emotional vulnerability and a PG-13 adventure with a couple sidekicks, including a chatty android played by Elle Fanning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2025
She’s spent her whole life being cared for by android robots while her parents are away, and stockpiling perishable resources and doomsday goods for when wildfires become too widespread to ignore.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2025
Emerging from the phone booth, he pushed his way among the people, back to Resch and the prone figure of the android girl.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
In 2024, the DOJ also sued Apple for allegedly making it difficult for customers to switch to devices made by other manufacturers, such as Android.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
A few weeks ago, I biked to meet a source for coffee, since my Android phone’s AccuWeather widget had seemingly projected a low, low chance of precipitation in the area.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
Released in February, the app has roughly 110,000 downloads on Android, with most of the users in the United States and Canada, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Travellers attempting to buy tickets using the old app were prompted to visit the app store on their Apple or Android device to download the new version.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
“The Android Look was not a good one for me.”
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
Do androids dream of electric balls and strikes—plus some other questions on baseball’s Opening Day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026
Now, tech entrepreneurs are trying to convince us that a world in which humans and androids share living spaces is just around the corner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2025
The filmmaker, whose film stars Will Smith as a detective sceptical of seemingly obedient androids, accused Musk of copying his work in a post on X.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2024
Decades after Philip K. Dick asked if androids dreamed of electric sheep, we have an answer.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2024
Her tone held cold reserve—and that other cold, which he had encountered in so many androids.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
