android

noun

an·​droid ˈan-ˌdrȯid How to pronounce android (audio)
: a mobile robot usually with a human form
sci-fi androids

Examples of android in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Right off the bat, Thia and the other androids, or synths as they're called in the film, provide the most obvious link to the Alien franchise. Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Nov. 2025 Luckily, Dek soon encounters a legless android named Thia, played with pluck by Elle Fanning. Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2025 On Genna, Dek meets Thia (Elle Fanning), a Weyland-Yutani android who is missing both of her legs and her sister Tessa (also Elle Fanning). Damon Wise, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025 Do androids dream of electric sheep? Chris Klimek, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for android

Word History

Etymology

earlier androides "automaton having a human form," borrowed from French androïde, perhaps borrowed from Late Greek androeidḗs "in the form of a man, like a man," from Greek andr-, anḗr "man, husband, human" + -oeidēs -oid entry 2 — more at andro-

Note: The word may equally well have been formed in post-medieval Latin, but evidence is lacking. An early English instance can be found in The History of Magick by way of Apology, for all the Wise Men who have unjustly been reputed Magicians (London, 1657), a translation, by "J. Davies," of Apologie pour tous les grands personnages qui ont esté faussement soupçonnez de magie (Paris, 1625) by the French librarian and scholar Gabriel Naudé (1600-53). The French word occurs earlier in Le mastigophore, ou precurseur du Zodiaque ([Paris]: 1609), a satirical work by the priest Antoine Fuzy/Fusi (1560-1629). Both authors use androïde in connection with the legendary talking automaton devised by albertus magnus, without any suggestion that the word was a neologism.

First Known Use

circa 1736, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of android was circa 1736

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Cite this Entry

“Android.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/android. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

android

noun
an·​droid ˈan-ˌdrȯid How to pronounce android (audio)
: a mobile robot with human form

Medical Definition

android

adjective
an·​droid ˈan-ˌdrȯid How to pronounce android (audio)
1
of the pelvis : having the angular form and narrow outlet typical of the human male
a disproportionate number of difficult labors occur in women with android pelvises
compare anthropoid entry 1, gynecoid, platypelloid
2
: relating to or characterized by the distribution of body fat chiefly in the abdominal region
android obesity
compare gynecoid

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