Bots
/bɒts/
nounIntermediateCommonTechnology
Meaning
Questions
Definitions
1
An automated program or script that performs repetitive tasks over the internet.
/bɒts/
nounneutralIntermediate
Technology
Software agents or programs performing automated tasks.
The website uses bots to monitor user activity.
💡 Simply: A computer program that does things automatically.
More Examples
2
Social media bots are spreading fake news.
How It's Used
Computer Science
"Many websites use bots to crawl and index their content."
Social Media
"Social media platforms struggle with the spread of misinformation spread by bots."
Shortened form of "robots", ultimately derived from the Czech word "robota" meaning "forced labor" coined by Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots).
The term's usage has exploded with the rise of the internet and social media.
Memory tip
Think of 'bot' as a short form of 'robot', performing automated tasks.
Practice
bottsboths
Usage
30%Spoken
70%Written