humanoid

humanoid — noun

1. a machine or robot built to have a body and behaviours similar to those of a per

1.nounB2
Definition

a machine or robot built to have a body and behaviours similar to those of a person, often designed to work in spaces made for humans

Example

The lab assistant noticed that the humanoid could recognise voices better than any previous model.

countable noun as object of 'recognise'

Children at the science fair lined up to watch the humanoid dance and tell jokes.

Common collocations
  • build / design / develop a humanoid
  • advanced / life-sized / bipedal humanoid
  • a humanoid can walk / talk / interact / recognise faces
  • humanoid robot / creature
Synonyms
  • android

    more specific — suggests a humanoid with advanced artificial intelligence and near-perfect human appearance

  • robot

    broader — includes non-humanoid machines such as robotic arms and vacuum cleaners

  • automaton

    more mechanical and less human-like in behaviour; often implies pre-programmed rather than adaptive actions

Grammar Patterns

a + humanoid

the + humanoid

Usage Note

Countable noun. Most common in discussions of robotics, technology news, and science fiction. The term also appears in paleoanthropology for prehistoric human-like species (e.g., Australopithecus), though in everyday use it refers almost exclusively to machines.

Common Mistakes

The alien in the film was a humanoid with tentacles and scales.
The alien in the film was a humanoid creature with two arms and two legs.
Humanoid describes something human-shaped; a creature with tentacles is not humanoid.
My phone assistant is a humanoid.
My phone assistant uses humanoid features like a face on the screen.
A voice-activated phone assistant is not a physical machine with a human-like body, so it is not a humanoid.

humanoid — adjective

Word family

  • human
    adjectiveA1
  • human
    nounA2
  • humanity
    nounB2
  • humane
    adjectiveB2
  • inhuman
    adjectiveB2
  • humanly
    adverbC1
  • humanism
    nounC1
  • humanize
    verbC1
  • dehumanize
    verbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four describe mechanical or artificial beings, but they differ in human-likeness and composition. A robot is the broadest term — any machine that performs tasks automatically, from a car-assembly arm to a vacuum cleaner. A humanoid is a specific type of robot built with a human-like body so it can navigate spaces designed for people. An android is a more advanced humanoid that not only looks human but behaves in convincingly human ways, often in science fiction. An automaton is a mechanical figure that follows a fixed sequence of movements, with little adaptability or intelligence. A cyborg is part human and part machine — its body is a living organism enhanced by technology, not a purely artificial creation. For everyday use: most household or factory machines are robots; a machine with a human shape is a humanoid; and if it passes for human, it is an android.

android ↗robot ↗automatoncyborg

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • humanoid robot
  • humanoid figure
  • humanoid form
  • humanoid creature

Etymology

LatinGreekEnglish

Formed from 'human' (from Latin hūmānus, meaning 'of or belonging to a person') and the suffix '-oid' (from Greek -oeidēs, meaning 'having the form or likeness of'). The word entered English in the early 19th century, first used to describe prehistoric human-like species and later extended to robots and machines with human appearance.