robot

noun9

1. •
   a machine that moves by itself to do a set of difficult jobs, often following orders from a computer

   • We have a robot in the house that does the vacuuming.
2. •
   An intelligent mechanical being designed to look like a human or other creature, and usually made from metal.
3. •
   A bot, software designed to perform a task.

   • Clifton Sellers attended a Zoom meeting last month where robots outnumbered humans. — 2025
4. •
   (figurative) A person who does not seem to have any emotions or individuality.

   • 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. — 2006
5. •
   A style of dance popular in disco in which the dancer imitates the stiff movements of a stereotypical android robot.
6. •
   (South-Africa) A traffic light (from earlier robot policeman).
7. •
   (Internet) 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. — 2015
8. •
   (historical) A system of serfdom used in Central Europe, under which a tenant's rent was paid in forced labour.

   • “I say again, down with the robot!—he is a dog who yields it!” — 1849
9. •
   A theodolite which follows the movements of a prism and can be used by a one-man crew.