android
noun
an automaton in the form of a human being.
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
One of the festival’s big themes seems to be connection: that we’re all stuck on this rock together and, ultimately, the difference between human and android, man and woman, is moot.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
The android knows how to navigate the planet’s threats—exploding spike plants, acid-spitting eels, literal razor grass—so Dek reluctantly teams up with her to find his quarry.
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
I’ve now seen my third Nexus-6 android, he realized.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
What it doesn’t offer is Apple CarPlay nor Android Auto.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 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
The feature allowed users to choose their default search engine during the initial set-up of a new Android device.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 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
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
You just think he’s British, so there’s that element to it where there’s something erudite or aloof about many of the androids.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 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
Rick said, “I took a test, one question, and verified it; I’ve begun to empathize with androids, and look what that means. You said it this morning yourself. ‘Those poor andys.’
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.
