Android: A Robot Shaped Like a Person, and a Phone Operating System
An android is a robot built to look human. Since 2008 the word has also named Google's mobile operating system, which is now its most common use.
An android is a robot made in human form. Science fiction has used the word since the nineteenth century, long before anything of the kind existed, and it remains the standard term for a machine designed to pass as a person.
Since 2008 the capitalised Android has meant Google's mobile operating system. That sense now overwhelms the original in everyday English, which is why a search for the word returns phones, not robots.
- A human-shaped robot. *The film's android is played by a human actor.*
- The mobile operating system. *Available on Android and iOS.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | android | An android servant. |
| Plural | androids | Androids in fiction. |
| Proper noun | Android | The Android app. |
| Adjective | android | Android phones. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The story turns on whether the android knows what it is.The science-fiction sense.
- The app is available for Android and iOS.The software sense, always capitalised.
- Androids and robots are not the same thing.A robot need not look human.
Android, robot, cyborg and humanoid
- Robot — any machine that performs tasks automatically
- Android — a robot in human form
- Humanoid — anything human-shaped, machine or not
- Cyborg — a living being with mechanical parts, not a machine at all
From Greek *andr-* (man) plus *-oid* (resembling). The word appears in English print by the 1720s and became common in pulp science fiction from the 1940s.
What is the difference between an android and a robot?
All androids are robots; most robots are not androids. A factory arm is a robot; only a human-shaped machine is an android.
Why is the operating system called Android?
It came from Android Inc., the startup Google bought in 2005, whose founder had used the nickname earlier in his career.