bots

American

[bots] / bɒts /

noun

(used with a plural verb)

a disease affecting various mammals, especially horses, caused by the attachment of the parasitic larvae of botflies to the stomach of the host.

bots British

/ bɒts /

noun

(functioning as singular) a digestive disease of horses and some other animals caused by the presence of botfly larvae in the stomach

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bots

First recorded in 1780–90; plural of bot ²; -s ³

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I recently became part of a face-off between two opposite-running Coco bots on the small strip of sidewalk in front of Cafe Figaro.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

Others do not, viewing the bots as sidewalk lice that create hazards and take jobs from humans.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

But bots often fail to grasp basic facts, such as insisting that the ratio 1:100 simplifies to 1:25.

From Slate • Apr. 9, 2026

"We're wanting to see whether we can hit the AI search bots with that content," she says.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026

I guess the spam bots don’t know when someone has died.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023