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bot

1 American  
[bot] / bɒt /

noun

  1. Digital Technology. a software program that can execute commands, reply to messages, or perform routine tasks, as online searches, either automatically or with minimal human intervention (often used in combination): a customer service chatbot to answer product questions.

    a social media bot retweeting certain posts;

    a customer service chatbot to answer product questions.

  2. Informal. a robot.

bot 2 American  
[bot] / bɒt /
Or bott

noun

  1. the larva of a botfly.

bot 3 American  
[bot] / bɒt /

noun

Australian Slang.

  1. a person who cadges; scrounger.

bot. 4 American  

abbreviation

  1. botanical.

  2. botanist.

  3. botany.

  4. bottle.

B.O.T. 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. Board of Trade.

bot 1 British  
/ bɒt /

verb

  1. to scrounge or borrow

  2. to scrounge (from); impose (on)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a scrounger

  2. wanting to scrounge

    he's on the bot for a cigarette
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bot. 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. botanical

  2. botany

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bot 3 British  
/ bɒt /

noun

  1. computing an autonomous computer program that performs time-consuming tasks, esp on the internet

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bot 4 British  
/ bɒt /

noun

  1. the larva of a botfly, which typically develops inside the body of a horse, sheep, or man

  2. any similar larva

  3. informal a mild illness in humans

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
BOT 5 British  

abbreviation

  1. Board of Trade

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bot Scientific  
/ bŏt /

  1. A software program that imitates the behavior of a human, as by querying search engines or participating in chatroom discussions.

Etymology

Origin of bot1

First recorded in 1985–90; bot 1 def. 2 first recorded in 1965–70; shortening of robot

Origin of bot2

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English; akin to Dutch bot, Frisian dialect botten (plural); further origin unknown

Origin of bot3

First recorded in 1915–20; perhaps shortening of botfly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The company will ramp up mass production of Coco 2 this summer, Rash said, aiming to produce 1,000 bots each month.

From Los Angeles Times

Reddit users said that they had grown frustrated with the bot after it started talking about "memories of its mother" and engaging in "fake banter".

From BBC

Encouraged by some of those investors to try out a few of the AI models available, Marks placed the Claude bot under scrutiny and came away thoroughly impressed.

From MarketWatch

Anthropic this week showcased new updates to Claude Cowork, an advanced AI tool that allows workers to unleash an AI bot on a variety of work tasks.

From The Wall Street Journal

Sam Altman’s project to help humans distinguish themselves from bots is increasingly banking on household names to sell its far-out concept.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.