robot
English · Español · Français · Deutsch · Italiano · Português · Tiếng Việt · Română · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
robot¹
- /ˈɹəʊ.bɒt/ UK
- /ˈɹəʊ.bət/ UK, dated
- /ˈɹoʊ.bɑt/ US
- /ˈɹəʉ̯.bɔt/ Australia
- /ˈɹɐʉ.bɔt/ New Zealand
- [ˈɹɐ̞ʉ̯.bɔt] New Zealand
Rhymes with -əʊbɒt, -əʊbət
Where it comes from
From German Robot, from a West Slavic language, ultimately related to Etymology 2, below.
robot²
- /ˈɹəʊ.bɒt/ UK
- /ˈɹəʊ.bət/ UK, dated
- /ˈɹoʊ.bɑt/ US
- /ˈɹəʉ̯.bɔt/ Australia
- /ˈɹɐʉ.bɔt/ New Zealand
- [ˈɹɐ̞ʉ̯.bɔt] New Zealand
Rhymes with -əʊbɒt, -əʊbət
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Czech robot, from robota (“drudgery, servitude”). Coined by Czech science-fiction writer and playwright Karel Čapek in 1920 in the play R.U.R. after having been suggested to him by his brother Josef. Largely displaced English automaton.
Ultimately a cognate with Middle English arveth from Old English earfoþe, and German Arbeit; see dialectal erf. Doublet of etymology 1. Related to English orphan, but with a -t- suffix from Proto-Slavic instead of the -an- from Ancient Greek.
Compare Polish robotnik and Russian работник (rabotnik, “worker”), sometimes mistakenly cited as the direct source of the English word.
noun robots
- An intelligent mechanical being designed to look like a human or other creature, and usually made from metal. Young Rossum invented a worker with a minimum amount of requirements. He had to simplify him. He rejected everything that did not contribute directly to the progress of work—everything that makes man more expensive. In fact, he rejected man and made the Robot. My dear Miss Glory, the Robots are not
- A machine built to carry out some complex task or group of tasks by physically moving, especially one which can be programmed. We have a robot in the house that does the vacuuming.
- A bot, software designed to perform a task. Clifton Sellers attended a Zoom meeting last month where robots outnumbered humans.
- A person who does not seem to have any emotions or individuality. Straight society tries to change us by several means. Most of the time, it is mental torture, though physical abuse is not uncommon. We are programmed to be straight starting from the day we are born, and every action, word, and feeling must conform to the straight image. If we DO decide to be free
- A traffic light (from earlier robot policeman).
- A theodolite which follows the movements of a prism and can be used by a one-man crew.
- A style of dance popular in disco in which the dancer imitates the stiff movements of a stereotypical android robot.
robot³
- /ˈɹəʊ.bɒt/ UK
- /ˈɹəʊ.bət/ UK, dated
- /ˈɹoʊ.bɑt/ US
- /ˈɹəʉ̯.bɔt/ Australia
- /ˈɹɐʉ.bɔt/ New Zealand
- [ˈɹɐ̞ʉ̯.bɔt] New Zealand
Rhymes with -əʊbɒt, -əʊbət
Where it comes from
Referencing the origin of the name of the 4chan imageboard /r9k/ (created in 2008), so-called because it implements the ROBOT9000 algorithm by Randall Munroe to prevent the reposting of content.
Possibly overlapping with the sense of robot (“a person who does not seem to have any emotions”), alluding to autism, due to the prevalence of personal stories describing awkward or embarrassing situations on the board.
noun robots
- A habitual poster on the /r9k/ board on 4chan; a member of the /r9k/ community. One anonymous message addressed to "fellow robots" hoped readers would have "an enjoyable Elliot Rodger day"—a reference to the shooter who killed six near a Santa Barbara university last year.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: golem, automaton, mechanical, automatic, automated, machinery, eve, robotic, automation, robotics, machine, android, rendering, cart, processor, rover
Translations
Every language
noun intelligent mechanical being
| Español | robot |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 로봇 robot, 인조인간 injoin'gan |
| 日本語 | ロボット robotto, 人造人間 jinzō ningen |
| 中文 | 機器人 /机器人 jīqìrén, 機械人 /机械人 jīxièrén |
| हिन्दी | रोबोट roboṭ, यंत्रमानव yantramānav |
| Kiswahili | roboti |
| Português | robot, robô |
| Français | robot |
| Deutsch | Roboter |
| Italiano | robot |
| Ελληνικά | ρομπότ rompót |
| Română | robot |
| Русский | ро́бот róbot |
| Tiếng Việt | người máy, rô-bốt, rô bốt, rôbốt, rô-bô, rô bô |
| العربية | رُوبُوت rōbōt, رُوبُوط rōbōṭ, إِنْسَان آلِيّ ʔinsān ʔāliyy, رَجُل آلِيّ rajul ʔāliyy |
| עברית | רוֹבּוֹט robót |
Talk about this word "robot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/robot. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. robot. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/robot "robot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/robot.Cite this
@misc{robot_2026,
title = {robot},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/robot},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
