Meaning & use
robot
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Meanings
nouncountable
A machine, usually controlled by a computer, that can carry out tasks automatically, sometimes shaped like a person or animal.
Grammar: Countable: a robot, three robots.
Patterns
- a robot that does something
- program a robot to do something
The factory uses a robot to weld car doors.
Children built a small robot that could follow a line on the floor.
A robot vacuum cleaner moved around the living room.
nouncountabledisapprovingfigurative
A person who works or behaves mechanically, without showing emotion or thinking for themselves.
Grammar: Used about people, often with 'like a': he acts like a robot.
Patterns
- like a robot
- work like a robot
After ten years on the assembly line, he felt like a robot.
She answered every question in a flat tone, like a robot.
Don't be a robot; tell me what you really think.
nouncountablecomputing
A software program that carries out automatic tasks online, such as searching websites or posting messages.
Grammar: Usually shortened to 'bot' in everyday use.
Patterns
- a robot that does something
The search engine sends a robot to scan new web pages.
The site blocks any robot that tries to submit the form.
Word forms
| plural | robots |
|---|
Common combinations
- industrial robot
- An industrial robot lifted the heavy engine parts.
- build a robot
- The students will build a robot for the science fair.
- humanoid robot
- A humanoid robot greeted visitors at the museum.
- robot vacuum
- The robot vacuum learned the layout of the house.
- program a robot
- He learned to program a robot using simple code.
- surgical robot
- A surgical robot helped doctors make very small cuts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- automaton
- This is more literary or historical and suggests a mechanical figure that moves by itself, often an old clockwork one.
- android
- This is narrower and means a robot made to look like a human.
- machine
- This is much broader, since it covers any device, whereas a robot suggests automatic, often programmable action.
- bot
- This is shorter and informal, and now usually means a software program rather than a physical machine.
Opposites
Word family
- robotic adjective
- relating to robots, or stiff and mechanical
- robotics noun
- the science and technology of designing robots
- robotically adverb
- in a mechanical, unfeeling way
- roboticist noun
- a person who works in robotics
Commonly confused: robot or cyborg? robot or android?
robot vs cyborg
A cyborg is a being that combines living and mechanical parts, while a robot is entirely a machine.
robot vs android
An android is a robot designed to resemble a person; many robots look nothing like people.
Practice
Which word best describes a machine built to look and move like a human?
Choose one answer.
An android is a human-shaped robot. An algorithm is a set of steps, a server is a computer providing services, and a gadget is any small device, none of which implies a human appearance.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “robot”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.