robot — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A system of serfdom used in Central Europe, under which a tenant's rent was paid in forced labour.

   Usage

   • Historical
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   “I say again, down with the robot!—he is a dog who yields it!”

   Although the robot varied from region to region, it was rarely less than burdensome.

Noun

1. An intelligent mechanical being designed to look like a human or other creature, and usually made from metal.

   Examples

   More examples (2)

   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 people. Mechanically they are more perfect than we are, they have an enormously developed intelligence, but they have no soul.

   The robots in Dick's novel, loosely adapted by Ridley Scott into the film Blade Runner, were so similar to humans that when they went rogue, trained bounty hunters were called in to perform psychological tests to see whether suspected androids lacked human empathy.

2. A machine built to carry out some complex task or group of tasks by physically moving, especially one which can be programmed.

   Broader terms

   automaton

   Examples

   We have a robot in the house that does the vacuuming.

   More examples (2)

   It's painfully slow and complex work which has never been attempted before in these conditions: the small box-shaped robots, equipped with two claws, are operating in almost freezing water 5,000ft below the surface, in pitch black and strong currents.

   Compared to humanoids, industrial robots typically feature less advanced technology and perform less sophisticated tasks. They’re widely used in industrial settings for manufacturing or transportation. […] About 56% of the humanoid robot supply chain companies are based in China, according to a Morgan Stanley research report last month.

3. A bot, software designed to perform a task.

   Examples

   Clifton Sellers attended a Zoom meeting last month where robots outnumbered humans.

4. A person who does not seem to have any emotions or individuality.

   Usage

   • Figurative

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   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 rather than to be robots, here are some of the consequences.

   Yet surely he was a humorless robot of a man, spewing forth lonely and bitter critiques of all those lesser mortals with whom he could not identify.

5. A traffic light (from earlier robot policeman).

   Usage

   • South-Africa

6. A theodolite which follows the movements of a prism and can be used by a one-man crew.

7. A style of dance popular in disco in which the dancer imitates the stiff movements of a stereotypical android robot.

Noun

1. A habitual poster on the /r9k/ board on 4chan; a member of the /r9k/ community.

   Usage

   • Internet

   Related words

   androidartificial intelligenceclankercomputercyborgdomoticspedipulatorrobot revolution

   Examples

   More examples (4)

   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.

   Posters on the board are locked in an ongoing debate about who can be one of them— a "robot." Can white guys be robots, despite their privilege? Can black guys? Women love them! It goes on and on. Only one rule really seems to be agreed upon: "If you have no friends and no gf you are a robot."

   It continued: "On October 5, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. CT, a fellow robot will take up arms against a university near Philadelphia. His cries will be heard, his victims will cower in fear, and the strength of the Union will decay a little more."

   As /r9k/ robots posted and reposted Pepes to playfully mock their status as grotesque outsiders whose very visage was disturbing to "normies," they ushered in a renaissance of frogs that soon appealed to all the netizens who every year had a little more in common with withdrawn, internet-soaked hikikomori.

Noun

1. a mechanism that can move automatically

   Synonyms

   automatongolem

   Broader terms

   mechanism