- plural of animatronic.
animatronics
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of animatronics
1975–80; blend of animate and electronics
Explanation
The art of making mechanical creatures that look like animals is called animatronics. If you create a robotic cat, you've mastered the technique of animatronics. Before computer animation became versatile and sophisticated, many movies used animatronics to create the illusion that people were interacting with dinosaurs or imaginary creatures. Animals created using animatronics are robotic, but they appear fairly realistic. Walt Disney was the first film director to use animatronics, in the 1960s,though he originally called the technique Audio-Animatronics.
Vocabulary lists containing animatronics
Speak Your Mind: Anim
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anim (spirit; mind)
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anim (spirit; mind)
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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.
Most of all, the movie’s distinction is in its stomach-churning smorgasbord of wild nightmare visions produced by the animatronics and makeup departments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
In the years prior, Woliner had become transfixed by immersive theater and animatronics, prompting him to purchase Dale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025
As for the animatronics, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop has taken obvious care and skill in re-creating the film’s lumbering robots and evoking their game origins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
An outside expert in animatronics, who typically works in television and theater, gives them an annual tuneup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
Locating their backup units was a little trickier, but years of hanging out at the Hall of Presidents while Lil tinkered with the animatronics helped me.
From Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
