servo

¹

[ sur-voh ]

adjective

1. acting as part of a servomechanism:

   servo amplifier.

2. pertaining to or having to do with servomechanisms:

   servo engineer.

3. noting the action of certain mechanisms, as brakes, that are set in operation by other mechanisms but which themselves augment the force of that action by the way in which they operate.

noun

, plural ser·vos.

1. Informal. servomechanism.

verb (used with object)

, ser·voed, ser·vo·ing.

1. to connect (a mechanism) to another as a servomechanism.

servo-

²

1. a combining form used in the names of devices or operations that employ a servomechanism:

   servocontrol.

servo

¹

/ ˈsɜːvəʊ /

adjective

1. prenominal of, relating to, forming part of, or activated by a servomechanism

   servo brakes

noun

1. informal.
   short for servomechanism

servo

²

/ ˈsɜːvəʊ /

noun

1. informal.
   a service station

Word History and Origins

Origin of servo¹

1945–50; independent use of servo-, taken as an adj., or shortening of words formed with it

Origin of servo²

Extracted from servomotor

Word History and Origins

Origin of servo¹

see servomotor

Example Sentences

A key component of that system is a servo motor that moves the rudder as commanded, made by Collins Aerospace, a unit of aerospace giant RTX, formerly known as Raytheon.

From Seattle Times

As they’re hopping in the car, one of the guys says, “Oh, we’re going down the servo,” which is like the service station, the gas station.

From Los Angeles Times

They can’t get a robotic servo thing that’s going to lift something up, but if it’s made out of cardboard and it’s got light bulbs in it, then yeah, sure.

From The Verge

What goes up must come down — and hard, when dealing with a 95-pound hunk of 3D printed plastics, aluminum, sensors, microprocessors and servo motors catapulted dozens of feet above ground.

From Los Angeles Times

To make the buttons work, a smaller Joy-Con controller is stowed inside with several servo motors that translate the presses on the big buttons to the actual hardware on the inside.

From The Verge