droid

IPA/drɔɪd/
KK[drˈɔɪd]IPA/drɔɪd/

droid — noun

  • droidsingular
  • droidsplural

1. a computer-programmed machine with a human-like body, found mainly in science fi

1.nounB1
Definition

a computer-programmed machine with a human-like body, found mainly in science fiction stories, films, and television shows — for example, the talking robots of the Star Wars movies

Example

Luca programmed his droid to bring him coffee every morning at seven.

possessive + droid: his droid

The repair droid fixed the spaceship's engine in less than an hour.

compound noun: repair droid

Common collocations
  • repair droid
  • battle droid
  • protocol droid
  • sentry droid
  • small gold droid
  • vintage droid
Synonyms
  • robot

    much broader term for any automated machine; droid implies a humanoid, characterful robot in a fictional setting

  • android

    more formal and technical than droid; droid is the shortened, informal version of this word

Grammar Patterns

a + (adjective) + droid

the + droid

Usage Note

Shortened from android. Strongly associated with science-fiction works, particularly the Star Wars franchise. Not typically used for general-purpose industrial robots or modern household devices.

Common Mistakes

The factory uses droids for welding car parts.
The factory uses robots for welding car parts.
'droid' sounds odd for ordinary factory machinery; it strongly suggests a human-like sci-fi robot.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Robot is the broadest term and covers everything from factory arms to vacuum cleaners to fictional humanoids. Android refers specifically to a robot designed to resemble a human, often in realistic detail, and carries a more formal or technical tone. Droid, a shortening of android, is distinctly informal and strongly tied to popular science fiction — especially the Star Wars universe, where it describes a wide range of characterful machines. Automaton is the most dated and literary of the four, describing a machine that performs a fixed set of movements, often in a stiff or lifeless way. You might call the human-like servant in a 1920s sci-fi story an automaton, a modern humanoid assistant an android, and R2-D2 a droid.

robot ↗android ↗automaton ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • battle droid
  • protocol droid
  • repair droid
  • sentry droid
  • service droid

Etymology

GreekEnglish

Droid was formed by clipping the first syllable of android, a word that entered English in the early 1700s from the Greek androeidēs, meaning 'manlike' (andro- 'man' + -eidēs 'form, shape'). The shortened form first appeared in the mid-20th century and was popularized worldwide by the Star Wars films, beginning in 1977.

First known use

1952

1952, in the meaning defined above