What does bot mean?
A bot is an automated program — or occasionally a machine — designed to carry out tasks without continuous human direction. The term is a shortening of "robot" and is used most often in computing contexts: a chatbot converses with users, a crawler indexes web pages for search engines, and malicious bots spread spam or form networks of compromised machines known as botnets. Because bots simulate human activity online, the word has taken on social meaning as well, describing fake accounts that inflate follower counts or sway discussion. In casual use it can even describe a person acting mechanically, as in "don't just sit there like a bot." The word is neutral when applied to useful automation but often carries suspicion or annoyance when the bot's purpose is deceptive or disruptive. Short, punchy, and endlessly productive in compounds like "chatbot" and "botnet," it is one of the defining vocabulary items of the digital age.
nounA software application that performs automated tasks on the internet, often simulating human activity such as chatting or posting; more broadly, a robot or automated program.
- A software program that runs automated tasks over the internet, especially one that simulates conversation or mimics user behaviour.
- A physical robot or any machine that operates automatically.
- (Informal) A person who behaves mechanically or without independent thought.
"The forum was flooded with spam posts written by bots."
"Customer support on the site is handled by a chatbot that answers common questions instantly."
"Search engines rely on bots to crawl and index billions of web pages every day."
Regular plural; standard in both British and American English.
"Bots generate a large share of traffic on social media platforms."
The word "bot" is a clipping of "robot," a term invented for a 1920 Czech play about artificial workers — and a century later, bots outnumber humans on much of the internet.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bot
"Bot" originated as a clipped form of "robot," itself introduced to the world by Czech writer Karel Čapek in his 1920 play R.U.R., where he took the Czech word "robota," meaning forced labour or drudgery, as the name for artificial workers. As robots entered fiction and then engineering, English speakers naturally shortened the word, and by the early era of networked computing "bot" had come to mean primarily an automated software agent rather than a mechanical figure. Its modern sense of an internet automation program became widespread in the late twentieth century alongside IRC bots and web crawlers.
Related word forms
How bot is actually used
"Bot" is informal to neutral in register and overwhelmingly associated with computing and internet culture. It can carry negative connotations when referring to spam bots, fake accounts, or botnets, but is neutral or positive in contexts like helpful chatbots or search crawlers. The plural is "bots."
Easily confused with bot
"Bot" is an automated program or robot, while "boat" is a watercraft — they differ by one vowel and are sometimes mistyped for each other.