noun

automaton

aw-TO-muh-tuhn

noun

A mechanical device built to carry out a fixed set of movements or instructions on its own.

"The museum displayed a 19th-century automaton that could write letters with a tiny pen."

"The toymaker spent years building a clockwork automaton shaped like a bird."

A person who behaves in a dull, mechanical way, as if acting without feeling or thought.

"He shuffled through his shift like an automaton, saying the same lines to every customer."

How to Use Automaton

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA self-operating machine, or someone acting like one — robotic and emotionless.

Common pairings

like an automaton a clockwork automaton

automatons plural, automata plural

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The museum displayed a 19th-century _____ that could write letters with a tiny pen.

From Greek autómaton, "acting of its own accord" — the neuter form of autómatos, self-moving.

baton Eaton Raton Keaton Wheaton Sheraton