bot

C2+ Topic:Technology & Computing

US /bɑt/ UK /bɒt/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like but /ʌ/ vs /ɑ/ Sounds like boat /ɑ/ vs /oʊ/

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a software program that runs automated tasks; also a botfly larva

A chat bot answered the customer's questions in seconds.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a software program that... robot programdroidagent crawler spider

Word family

Derived forms botnet

Related forms robot

Etymology

A shortening of robot, which was coined by Karel Capek (from Czech robota, 'forced labor') in 1920. The 'botfly larva' sense is a separate, older word of obscure origin.

robota Czech

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Technology & Computing

# bot

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** bɑt
**IPA (UK):** bɒt

## Meanings
1. a software program that runs automated tasks; also a botfly larva

## Examples
- A chat bot answered the customer's questions in seconds.

## Synonyms
- robot
- program
- droid
- agent
- crawler
- spider

## Derived Forms
- botnet

## Related Forms
- robot

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: robota

## Etymology
A shortening of robot, which was coined by Karel Capek (from Czech robota, 'forced labor') in 1920. The 'botfly larva' sense is a separate, older word of obscure origin.

## AI Etymology
Bot is a shortening of robot, which was coined by Karel Capek (from Czech robota, 'forced labor') in 1920. The 'botfly larva' sense is a separate, older word of obscure origin. The historical trail runs through robota in Czech. The history must be left partly open, preserving the uncertainty rather than forcing a single unsupported ancestry. Used as a noun, bot now means "a software program that runs automated tasks; also a botfly larva", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as botnet and related forms such as robot. That uncertainty is part of the entry: the safest account is the attested form and the limited comparisons preserved with it.

## Topics
- Technology & Computing

markdown

bot

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback