automatons

Variant of automaton

automaton definition

au·toma·ton (ô tämə tän′, -tən)

noun pl. automatons -·tons′ or automata -·ta (-tə)

  1. anything that can move or act of itself
  2. an apparatus that automatically performs certain actions by responding to preset controls or encoded instructions
  3. an electronic machine, control device, etc. equipped with a computer and designed to operate automatically in response to instructions previously fed into the computer
  4. a person or animal acting in an automatic or mechanical way

Etymology: L < Gr, neut. of automatos: see automatic

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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