bots

American  

[bots] / bɒts /

noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. a disease affecting various mammals, especially horses, caused by the attachment of the parasitic larvae of botflies to the stomach of the host.

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bots British  

/ bɒts /

noun

1. (functioning as singular) a digestive disease of horses and some other animals caused by the presence of botfly larvae in the stomach

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Etymology

Origin of bots

First recorded in 1780–90; plural of bot ²; see -s ³

Example Sentences

It found that the accounts that tend to do the best on these platforms are often owned by firms with staffers, who pay for access to live data feeds, servers, and AI bots.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

Shuttleworth also said online sales have also caused problems, with people using bots and other technology to try and cheat the system.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

Those agents are both “individual-level” bots for tasks like managing email or writing a brief, to larger scale agents that can manage data sets for multiple projects, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

The issue, known as “AI agent sprawl,” stems partly from how easy it is for even nontechnical employees to create these independent AI bots, thanks to platforms like Anthropic’s Claude Cowork.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

Around us, the security bots have noticed the scuffle and gather instantaneously near the entrance, sealing the tent in.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu