1. programmable machine for performing tasks: a mechanical device that can be programmed to carry out instructions and perform complicated tasks usually done by people
2. imaginary machine: a machine that resembles a human in appearance and can function like a human, especially in science fiction
3. person like machine: somebody who works or behaves mechanically and emotionlessly
4. South Africa traffic light: a set of automatic traffic lights
(
informal
)
[Early 20th century. Via German< Czech, < robota "forced labor"; coined by Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) (1920)]
