robot

[ roh-buh t, -bot ]

/ ˈroʊ bət, -bɒt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR robot ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a machine that resembles a human and does mechanical, routine tasks on command.

a person who acts and responds in a mechanical, routine manner, usually subject to another's will; automaton.

any machine or mechanical device that operates automatically with humanlike skill.

adjective

operating automatically: a robot train operating between airline terminals.

Nearby words

Origin of robot

< Czech, coined by Karel Čapek in the play R.U.R. (1920) from the base robot-, as in robota compulsory labor, robotník peasant owing such labor

Related formsro·bot·ism, nounro·bot·ic, ro·bot·is·tic

[roh-buh-tis-tik, -bo-] /ˌroʊ bəˈtɪs tɪk, -bɒ-/, adjectivero·bot·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for robotic

The friendly aura vanished, her eyes dead, voice robotic and confident she was correct.
Jeopardy! Champion Julia Collins’s Brain Feels Like Mush|Sujay Kumar|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The research will be used to make advances in robotic technology and facilitate smoother interactions between humans and robots.
Japan's Robots Are Reading Your Emotions|Angela Erika Kubo, Jake Adelstein|August 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But what is the end game here, and what are the unintended consequences of imbuing a robotic device with cuteness?
Does a Robot Need to Be Cute?|Annabelle Gurwitch|June 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The U.S. Air Force boosted the robotic X-37B atop the nose of an Atlas-5 rocket in December 2012.
Will The Pentagon’s Secret Space Plane Ever Return to Earth?|Kyle Mizokami|April 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Additionally, many surgeons are not approved to perform da Vinci robotic single-site hysterectomies.
A New Hysterectomy Procedure Eliminates Massive Scarring and Long Recovery Time. So Why Aren’t More Doctors On Board?|Heather Wilson|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It sounded a little infantile, but he was pretty sure none of those present had any sound knowledge of robotic intelligence.
The Velvet Glove|Harry Harrison
There was a lot of cybernetic and robotic equipment, and astrogational equipment, that had to be made from scratch.
The Cosmic Computer|Henry Beam Piper
Steel and electrons and wires and robotic brains were inflexible.
There Will Be School Tomorrow|V. E. Thiessen
Robotic systems are an important area of consideration within Rapid Dominance.
Shock and Awe|Harlan K. Ullman
Centuries before smart weapons and robotic systems, this reasoning was understood intuitively.
Shock and Awe|Harlan K. Ullman

British Dictionary definitions for robotic

robot

/ (ˈrəʊbɒt) /

noun

any automated machine programmed to perform specific mechanical functions in the manner of a man

(modifier) not controlled by man; automatica robot pilot

a person who works or behaves like a machine; automaton

Southern African a set of traffic lights

Derived Formsrobotic, adjectiverobotism or robotry, nounrobot-like, adjective

Word Origin for robot

C20: (used in R.U.R., a play by Karel Čapek) from Czech robota work; related to Old Slavonic rabota servitude, German Arbeit work

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

Word Origin and History for robotic

robotic

adj.

1941 (Asimov), from robot + -ic.

robot

1923, from English translation of 1920 play "R.U.R." ("Rossum's Universal Robots"), by Karel Capek (1890-1938), from Czech robotnik "slave," from robota "forced labor, compulsory service, drudgery," from robotiti "to work, drudge," from an Old Czech source akin to Old Church Slavonic rabota "servitude," from rabu "slave," from Old Slavic *orbu-, from PIE *orbh- "pass from one status to another" (see orphan). The Slavic word thus is a cousin to German Arbeit "work" (Old High German arabeit). According to Rawson the word was popularized by Karel Capek's play, "but was coined by his brother Josef (the two often collaborated), who used it initially in a short story."

Medicine definitions for robotic

robotic

[ rō-bŏt′ĭk ]

adj.

Relating to, characteristic of, or employing robots.

robot

[ rō′bŏt′ ]

n.

A mechanical device that sometimes resembles a human and is capable of performing a variety of often complex human tasks on command or by being programmed in advance.

A machine or device that operates automatically or by remote control.

A person who works mechanically without original thought, especially one who responds automatically to the commands of others.

Science definitions for robotic