automaton
Americannoun
plural
automatons, automata-
a mechanical figure or contrivance constructed to act as if by its own motive power; robot.
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a person or animal that acts in a monotonous, routine manner, without active intelligence.
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something capable of acting automatically or without an external motive force.
noun
-
a mechanical device operating under its own hidden power; robot
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a person who acts mechanically or leads a routine monotonous life
Other Word Forms
- automatous adjective
Etymology
Origin of automaton
1605–15; < Latin: automatic device < Greek, noun use of neuter of autómatos spontaneous, acting without human agency, equivalent to auto- auto- 1 + -matos, adj. derivative from base of memonénai to intend, ménos might, force
Explanation
If you walk like an automaton, you move stiffly, like a robot. An automaton is something constructed to be human-like, or a person who seems to have lost the spark of life. When you see the word, think of Frankenstein's monster, or C3PO from Star Wars. They're not quite human, but they were made to appear so. Used metaphorically, this word suggests the loss of joy and sense of life that makes someone seem like a robot or zombie. After a bad loss, the baseball team might be sitting around like a bunch of automatons. They're mopey and lifeless.
Vocabulary lists containing automaton
Do it Yourself: Words Beginning with "AUTO"
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Mechanical Engineering
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The Hot Zone
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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.
At January’s conference, robots, including Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, a 6-foot-2-inch automaton weighing in at just under 200 pounds with a digital smiley face, were the stars.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
On Wednesday he was an automaton, almost like a windup toy.
From Salon • Dec. 19, 2025
The success of “Maybe Happy Ending” hinges in no small part on the miraculous performance of Darren Criss, who plays an automaton with a secretly sensitive heart.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2025
The application was consuming me, organizing my synapses like an automaton farmer who makes Munsen predictions regarding the historical flow of neurotransmission.
From Slate • Oct. 28, 2023
The only thing I couldn’t bring myself to destroy was the automaton, which I donated to the local museum.
From "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
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.
