botnet

noun

bot·​net ˈbät-ˌnet 

: a network of computers that have been linked together by malware : a network of bots (see bot entry 1 sense 2b)

Criminals link hijacked personal computers together to form "botnets"—clusters of infected PCs that spammers can control from anywhere in the world.

—Dave Mosher

Examples of botnet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Over the last two years, AI has enabled the creation of mega botnets with access to hundreds of thousands and even millions of machines. — Carlos Morales, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026

The botnet was used to facilitate cyber crimes, such as the theft of sensitive information from victims’ networks. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026

Intruding traffic attempted to install multiple malicious apps that made SuperBoxes a node in yet another proxy network or join botnets for use in DDoS attacks. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026

Once the device is infected, the malware downloads additional packages designed to join the device to a botnet used for malicious proxy services and ad fraud. — Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

bot entry 1 + net entry 1

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for botnet

• abet
• asset
• baguette
• banquette
• barbette
• beget
• beset
• binet
• briquette
• brunet
• brunette
• burette