automaton
Americannoun
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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
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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
Derived Forms
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.
The 45-second film, "Gugusse and the Automaton," was made in 1897 -- just two years after the Lumiere Brothers staged the world's first public screening of a movie in Paris.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
But when I read The Black Automaton by Douglas Kearney I properly shut up and learned.
From The Guardian • Oct. 20, 2018
La Belle, Lost in the World of the Automaton Imago Theatre uses puppetry, animatronics, etc., in a family-friendly reimagining of the classic fairytale “Beauty and the Beast.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2017
“Lower hardware costs have tipped the scales so that formerly infeasible business models are now very attractive,” says Cruise Automaton CEO Kyle Vogt.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2016
The titles are: "The Automaton Theory: Parallelism," "What is Parallelism?" and "The Man and the Candlestick."
From An Introduction to Philosophy by Fullerton, George Stuart
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.
