Definition of BOT (original) (raw)

1

: robot

The competition pits remote-controlled, spinning, stabbing robots against each other in three-minute jousts to the death. At the end of each fight, either one of the bots is a smoking, immobile wreck or the judges decide who scored the most blows.—Brad Stone

2

a

: a computer program that performs automatic repetitive tasks : agent sense 5

Several shopping "bots" will track down prices for on-line merchandise from a variety of vendors.—Sam Vincent Meddis

especially : one designed to perform a malicious action

These bot programs churn away all day and night, prodding at millions of random IP addresses looking for holes to crawl through. —Jennifer Tanaka

b

: a computer that has been infected with a bot and can be used for malicious purposes as part of a network of infected computers

These proxies then sent instructions to worker bots in set patterns, including templates for spam creation.—Jeff Hecht

3

: a computer program or character (as in a game) designed to mimic the actions of a person

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

by shortening

Noun (2)

Middle English; akin to Dutch lever_bot_ liver fluke

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1969, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of bot was in the 15th century