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:
Sony is halting sales of its robotic puppy "aibo" in Japan, the company said, eight years after the latest model of its interactive android pet became an instant hit.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Instead of husband President Donald Trump at her side, it was the "Figure 3" android that accompanied Melania down the famous red carpet.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 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
He doesn’t look hand-stitched — he looks a little like a modern android.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
But he could not work up much concern for Roy Baty; he caught, from Dave’s jottings, a repellent quality hanging about this particular android.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
The commission, the 27-nation bloc's antitrust regulator, had accused Google of abusing the popularity of its Android operating system to restrict competition.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
It alleged Google pressured phone makers using Android to pre-install its search engine and Google Chrome browser -- essentially shutting out rivals.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
“I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product,” Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Note that Flighty isn’t available for Android devices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
“The Android Look was not a good one for me.”
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
The iPhone might be with us until the end of time, or until we ourselves become androids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Besides Fanning’s, the only other mug copied on the dozens of Weyland-Yutani androids working under Tessa is that of fellow actor Cameron Brown.
From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2025
You know the species because androids have been a mainstay of science fiction since before Isaac Asimov coined the “three laws of robotics” for a novelette published in 1942.
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
Max noticed that some of the androids ahead of them were actually wearing hoodies that hung down over their faces in the same way as veils.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
