robot
Americannoun
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robots
plural
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a machine that resembles a human and does mechanical, routine tasks on command.
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a person who acts and responds in a mechanical, routine manner, usually subject to another's will; automaton.
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any machine or mechanical device that operates automatically with humanlike skill.
adjective
noun
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any automated machine programmed to perform specific mechanical functions in the manner of a man
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(modifier) not controlled by man; automatic
a robot pilot
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a person who works or behaves like a machine; automaton
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a set of traffic lights
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing robot
Engineering - Introductory
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Engineering - Middle School
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Engineering - High School
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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:
“These workloads should scale ahead of physical robot deployment, creating incremental demand for data center infrastructure, AI accelerators, memory, storage, networking, and power,” Barclays says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Officers then dispatched a bomb disposal robot, while air traffic was halted for several hours.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Police used an explosive detection robot to help them investigate the item.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
New York school pauses plan to deploy humanlike AI robot teacher after backlash.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
As she hiked, the robot couldn’t help staring at the bizarre frozen shapes around her.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
Despite a pause in most tariffs following talks in May 2025, Washington and Beijing have continued to exchange sanctions, including restrictions on humanoid robots shipped to the US and tighter Chinese curbs on drone exports.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
That’s largely because of how cheap Chinese robots are compared with rival products.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Marc Lore believes the future of food lies in robots, drones and artificial intelligence-generated menus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Zigzagging between robots, weapons and computers in his garage workshop, Ukrainian engineer Eduard Trotsenko was bubbling with excitement as he showed off his latest prototypes and dreamed of sci-fi-inspired futuristic ideas.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Roz adjusted her vision and saw familiar robots gazing out the front window.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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.
