cybernetics

[ sahy-ber-net-iks ]
See synonyms for cybernetics on Thesaurus.com
noun(used with a singular verb)
  1. the study of automatic control and communication functions in both living organisms and mechanical and electronic systems, involving the application of statistical mechanics to feedback: During WW II, cybernetics was used to develop radar-controlled antiaircraft guns; today the field is working on prosthetic arms and legs linked directly to the human nervous system.

Origin of cybernetics

1
From Greek kybernḗtēs “helmsman, steersman” (kybernē-, stem of kybernân “to steer” + -tēs agent suffix) + -ics; term introduced by Norbert Wiener in 1948

Other words from cybernetics

  • cy·ber·net·ic, cy·ber·net·i·cal, adjective
  • cy·ber·net·i·cist, cy·ber·ne·ti·cian [sahy-ber-ni-tish-uhn], /ˌsaɪ bər nɪˈtɪʃ ən/, noun

Words Nearby cybernetics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cybernetics in a sentence

  • They're all qualified cybernetics technicians; they can do this work better than this gang we've had to hire here.

    Day of the Moron | Henry Beam Piper
  • Her console's so simple anyone with a basic knowledge of computers and cybernetics could figure her out.

    Where I Wasn't Going | Walt Richmond
  • It is not generally known that all the periodical publications for the world were put out by cybernetics.

    Joy Ride | Mark Meadows
  • Dr. Auerbach was playing around with a chemical approach to cybernetics.

    Sense from Thought Divide | Mark Irvin Clifton
  • He got interested in neurology from the physics angle toward the end of his life, and contributed a lot to cybernetics.

    Sentiment, Inc. | Poul William Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for cybernetics

cybernetics

/ (ˌsaɪbəˈnɛtɪks) /


noun
  1. (functioning as singular) the branch of science concerned with control systems in electronic and mechanical devices and the extent to which useful comparisons can be made between man-made and biological systems: See also feedback (def. 1)

Origin of cybernetics

1
C20: from Greek kubernētēs steersman, from kubernan to steer, control

Derived forms of cybernetics

  • cybernetic, adjective
  • cyberneticist, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for cybernetics

cybernetics

[ sī′bər-nĕtĭks ]


  1. The scientific study of communication and control processes in biological, mechanical, and electronic systems. Research in cybernetics often involves the comparison of these processes in biological and artificial systems.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for cybernetics

cybernetics

[ (seye-buhr-net-iks) ]


The general study of control and communication systems in living organisms and machines, especially the mathematical analysis of the flow of information. The term cybernetics was coined by Norbert Wiener, an American mathematician of the twentieth century.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.