Definition of bot
: the larva of a botfly;
especially
: one infesting the horse
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Origin and Etymology of bot
Middle English; akin to Dutch leverbot liver fluke
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 15th century
in the meaning defined above
See Words from the same yearDefinition of bot
1
: robot
- Bennett's referring to … a new police robot. It looks similar to the Albuquerque Bomb Squad robot next to it—both have cameras, an articulated arm, a mechanical gripper, and tank-like treads. But Benett's bot is different; it has brains.
- —Popular Science
2 a
: a computer program that performs automatic repetitive tasks : agent 5
- Several shopping "bots" will track down prices for on-line merchandise from a variety of vendors.
- —Sam Vincent Meddis
- These bot programs churn away all day and night, prodding at millions of random IP addresses looking for holes to crawl through.
- —Jennifer Tanaka
b
: a computer that has been infected with a bot and can be used for malicious purposes as part of a network of infected computers
- These proxies then sent instructions to worker bots in set patterns, including templates for spam creation.
- —Jeff Hecht
3
: a computer program or character (as in a game) designed to mimic the actions of a person
Origin and Etymology of bot
by shortening
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: 1969
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearMedical Dictionary
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See words that rhyme with bot Nglish: Translation of bot for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of bot for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about bot
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