nanobot

noun

nano·​bot ˈna-nō-ˌbät 

plural nanobots

: a microscopically small robot : a robot built on the scale of nanometers

Many newspaper articles about nanotechnology seem obsessed with the idea of nanobots, itty bitty robots that dash about doing useful tasks and maybe (just maybe) getting out of control and destroying the world …

—Pat Murphy

Another technology that will greatly enhance the realism of virtual reality is nanobots: miniature robots the size of blood cells that travel through the capillaries of our brains and communicate with biological neurons.

—Ray Kurzweil

In one section of the book, [Eric] Drexler speculates about what could happen if we created self-reproducing "nanobots."

—Keith Veronese

Examples of nanobot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the mind-mansion above, Edith integrates the same clockwork piece into Vision’s control panel, which reprograms Lisa’s nanobot and drives Jocasta out. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2026

Among them are nanobots — microscopic machines designed to perform tasks inside the body, such as delivering drugs directly to diseased cells or monitoring a patient’s health. — Sofia Baltodano june 5, Miami Herald, 5 June 2026

Significantly more research is required before these nanobots are ready for primetime, but the team hopes to one day begin testing similar devices in humans. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 3 June 2026

Created by Obruchev on behalf of MI6, Heracles is a bioweapon consisting of nanobots that can target specific individuals via DNA inputs. — Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

nano- + bot entry 1

First Known Use

1989, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for nanobot

• afterglow
• akimbo
• albino
• aliquot
• allegro
• amigo
• apropos
• audio
• bungalow
• calico
• calypso
• cameo