automata
n. plural-onlyn. machines that can move or act by themselves, often made to look like people or animals. They are usually mechanical and follow a set of instructions to perform a task.
n. plural of 'automaton'; refers to self-operating machines or mechanisms designed to follow a predetermined sequence of operations. Often used in the context of historical mechanical figures or theoretical computing models.
The museum has a collection of 18th-century mechanical automata.
The clock tower features several wooden automata that emerge every hour to perform a short musical sequence for the crowd below.
In the study of formal languages, finite automata serve as abstract mathematical models for machines that transition between states based on specific input symbols.
Takes a plural verb. The singular form is 'automaton', though 'automatons' is sometimes used as an alternative plural in non-technical contexts.
This automata is brokenThis automaton is brokenAutomata is the plural form; use the singular 'automaton' when referring to just one machine.