virtual assistant
Americannoun
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a person, as a freelance office assistant, who works remotely in an administrative role.
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voice assistant. digital assistant. Digital Technology. a device or piece of software that can perform basic tasks and answer some questions in response to spoken natural language, often following a command or prompt.
Etymology
Origin of virtual assistant
First recorded in 2000–05 virtual assistant for def. 1, and in 2010–15 virtual assistant for def. 2
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.
Alexandra Fine, a mother of three young children, spends about $85,000 a year on a team of seven that includes nannies, a home organizer, a handyman and a virtual assistant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
At its developers conference Monday, Apple executives showed how the more conversational virtual assistant Siri AI can help people get more done.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
The 2026 Siri overhaul aims to turn Apple’s virtual assistant into an AI agent, complete with a separate Siri app similar to what chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude have.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026
Microsoft, which years ago shelved its widely-disliked Clippy paperclip virtual assistant, has also unveiled a new cartoon character for its AI assistant Copilot.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
For a virtual assistant, she’s got good taste, although she wasn’t a fan of the high-top sneakers.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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.
