end effector

noun

variants or end-effector

ˈend-i-ˈfek-tər 

-ˌtȯr

plural end effectors or end-effectors

: any of various tools that can be mounted at the end of a robotic arm and that are used to interact with or manipulate objects

Performance data on robots, Lau says, usually describe a device's ability to place its end effector at a given point and do so repeatedly at very low speeds.

—K. M. Reese

Examples of end effector in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Agility claims upgraded limbs and advanced end effectors expand Digit’s manipulation range, enabling tasks such as stacking totes, loading carts, and handling varied materials. —Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 20 Apr. 2026

Every task required a robotic arm’s end effector to get within 2.5 centimeters of the right spot on the right strut, approached from the correct angle, then stay there, frozen, for a moment. —Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 25 Sep. 2025

By replacing its feet with hooked end effectors and employing advanced reinforcement learning techniques, the robot can now ascend ladders at various angles with a 90% success rate. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 3 Nov. 2024

Key features of mocobots include passive compliance, for the safety of the human and the payload, and high-fidelity end effector force control independent of the potentially imprecise motions of the mobile base. —Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 1 July 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for end effector

• eigenvector
• bisector
• collector
• connector
• corrector
• defector
• deflector
• detector
• director
• dissector
• ejector
• elector