android

noun

an·​droid ˈan-ˌdrȯid How to pronounce android (audio)
: a mobile robot usually with a human form
sci-fi androids

Examples of android in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
When androids known as Cylons, which were created by humans, destroy their colonies, only a small group of humans survive. —Meg Walters, Glamour, 21 Mar. 2025 In the footage, the faceless android is seen suspended from the ceiling, its limbs twitching and moving in an unsettlingly human-like manner. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 11 Mar. 2025 But, as the marketing for the movie has revealed, Iris is an android, someone quickly bites the dust, and chaos quickly ensues. —Samantha Allen, Them, 29 Jan. 2025 How about monsters that eat cities and androids that dream of electric sheep? —Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 9 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for android

Word History

Etymology

earlier androides "automaton having a human form," borrowed from French androïde, perhaps borrowed from Late Greek androeidḗs "in the form of a man, like a man," from Greek andr-, anḗr "man, husband, human" + -oeidēs -oid entry 2 — more at andro-

Note: The word may equally well have been formed in post-medieval Latin, but evidence is lacking. An early English instance can be found in The History of Magick by way of Apology, for all the Wise Men who have unjustly been reputed Magicians (London, 1657), a translation, by "J. Davies," of Apologie pour tous les grands personnages qui ont esté faussement soupçonnez de magie (Paris, 1625) by the French librarian and scholar Gabriel Naudé (1600-53). The French word occurs earlier in Le mastigophore, ou precurseur du Zodiaque ([Paris]: 1609), a satirical work by the priest Antoine Fuzy/Fusi (1560-1629). Both authors use androïde in connection with the legendary talking automaton devised by albertus magnus, without any suggestion that the word was a neologism.

First Known Use

circa 1736, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of android was circa 1736

Rhymes for android

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Browse Nearby Words

androgyny
android
andrology
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Cite this Entry

“Android.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/android. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.

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Kids Definition

android

noun
an·​droid
ˈan-ˌdrȯid
: a mobile robot with human form

Medical Definition

android

adjective
an·​droid ˈan-ˌdrȯid How to pronounce android (audio)
1
of the pelvis : having the angular form and narrow outlet typical of the human male
a disproportionate number of difficult labors occur in women with android pelvises
compare anthropoid entry 1, gynecoid, platypelloid
2
: relating to or characterized by the distribution of body fat chiefly in the abdominal region
android obesity
compare gynecoid

More from Merriam-Webster on android

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about android

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