humanoid
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
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a being with human rather than anthropoid characteristics
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(in science fiction) a robot or creature resembling a human being
Etymology
Origin of humanoid
Explanation
Something that's humanoid looks or acts like a real, live human being — but it's not. A humanoid robot is one that's designed to resemble a person. Anthropologists coined the word humanoid in the 19th century, adding the suffix -oid, or "like," to human. Scientists once used it to talk about humanlike traits in non-human organisms, but today it nearly always describes an automaton or robot. In the Star Wars universe, droids like C-3PO are humanoid, while R2-D2, who doesn’t have arms and legs or a recognizable face, is not.
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.
Any industrial robotics company “with substantial existing revenue and delivered automation projects starts from a different position than a new humanoid startup,” said Poe Zhao, the founder of technology newsletter Hello China Tech.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Rather than racing to build a humanoid capable of doing everything from day one, Agile Robots has spent years embedding its industrial robots inside factories to solve problems for their clients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
If wheeled robots move goods cheaply, reliably and efficiently or robots with just arms can do the other automated tasks, what problem does a humanoid solve?
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Across China, companies including AgiBot and Unitree are investing billions in humanoid robots.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
I mean, my sister had become a humanoid underground dweller.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
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.
