automaton

noun au·tom·a·ton \ ȯ-ˈtä-mə-tən , -mə-ˌtän \

|Updated on: 6 Jun 2018

Definition of automaton

plural automatons or automata play \-mə-tə, -mə-ˌtä\

1 : a mechanism that is relatively self-operating; especially : robot

2 : a machine or control mechanism designed to follow automatically a predetermined sequence of operations or respond to encoded instructions

3 : an individual who acts in a mechanical fashion

He is an unfeeling automaton.

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Recent Examples of automaton from the Web

In spite of its title, The Turk was not a foreign dignitary, but an automaton, comprising a wooden exterior in the shape of a mustachioed man and a complex interior mechanism of cogs and gears.

— shuja haider, The New Republic, "Silicon Valley’s Rigged Game of Life," 3 May 2018
Yet this advanced speech technology isn’t the only thing Coppernose’s automatons have in common with Westworld’s hosts, as demonstrated in George Cruikshank’s illustration.

— lynda clark, Smithsonian, "How Charles Dickens Imagined a Westworld-like Robot Theme Park Back In 1838," 21 Apr. 2018
Like The Turk, Silicon Valley is an impressive automaton hiding a con job.

— shuja haider, The New Republic, "Silicon Valley’s Rigged Game of Life," 3 May 2018
After DeGeneres’ writers gifted her with the robot version of herself for her birthday in January, the Internet was quick to make note of the automaton’s less than striking resemblance to its real-life counterpart.

— Time, "That Animatronic Ellen DeGeneres That Went Viral Is Up For Auction," 19 Apr. 2018
Fortunately the store’s complex self-assembly kits are something of a benchmark for roboticists who have toiled for years at building automatons smart and dexterous enough to fit screws and wooden pegs into their corresponding holes.

— larry greenemeier, Scientific American, "IKEA-Building Robot Conquers Touchy-Feely Challenge," 18 Apr. 2018
That point of entry could be intriguing, to the extent that Borg was portrayed in the media as a tennis-playing automaton, someone virtually devoid of emotion.

— brian lowry, CNN, "'Borg vs McEnroe' falls short of being a winner," 12 Apr. 2018
While many cat owners will say there's no way to improve on purrfection, researchers at USC are giving it their best shot by building a robot kitty — which could have an impact on other automatons.

— david lazarus, latimes.com, "California Inc.: Heads up, investors, it's the season of the witch," 12 Mar. 2018
Science looks into the latest efforts to make these anthropomorphic automatons, and uncover what may be on the horizon.

— andrew wagner, Science | AAAS, "Why do we keep making robots that look like people? This video has some answers," 20 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'automaton.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The idea of the automaton has fascinated people for many centuries. A traveler to the emperor's court in Byzantium in A.D. 949 reported that mechanical birds sat in a golden tree singing the songs of their species; that mechanical lions flanked the throne, roaring and switching their great tails; and that, as he stood watching, the emperor's throne suddenly shot upward toward the high ceiling, and when it slowly descended the emperor was wearing new robes. Early automata (notice the common plural form) often relied on water, steam, or falling weights to power them. Today automata, often called robots, are used in manufacturing plants to build not only vehicles but also much smaller electronic equipment.