clanker
nounAU, UK /ˈklæŋkə/ · UK /ˈklaŋkə/
Etymology
From clank + -er, onomatopoeic. The sense meaning "robot" appears in science fiction at least as early as 1958. Its broader popular use increased on social media beginning around 2024, due to the AI boom. In this wave of usage, it was especially influenced by the word's appearance in the Star Wars franchise, particularly the 2005 video game Star Wars: Republic Commando. In Star Wars, the term was used towards B1-series battle droids, which were humanoid robots that were manufactured for the sole purpose of fighting in armed conflicts. Their nickname of "clanker" stems from the fact that they would frequently make clanking noises any time they moved around due to being cheaply mass-produced.
Something that makes a clanking noise.
- Hurt him, hang him, Scrape-trencher, Stare-wearer, Wine-ſpiller, Mettle-clanker, Rogue by generation : Why dost heare Will?1611, George Wilkins, The Miseries of Inforst Mariage, London: George Vincent, page 36:
- Poor boys have got to study hard. Then they’ll get rich too—they’ll be doctors, and officers, and officials. I want to be a clanker—with a sword at my side and spurs on my boots—clank, clank!1950 [1899], Maxim Gorky, translated by Margaret Wettlin, Foma Gordeyev, Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, page 54:
1 more example
- The robots, designed by Kenjiro Okazaki, are cardboard tubes rather than the usual metal clankers.2007 September 9, Jennifer Dunning, “Choreographic Evidence That Laughing Matters”, in New York Times:
Internet, Derogatory, Humorous A robot or artificial intelligence.
- I got laid off 'cause they got them goddamn clankers taking our jobs.
- Lousy clanker.2005 March 1, John A. Hancock, Ryan Kaufman, Justin Lambros, Michael Stemmie, Star Wars: Republic Commando, spoken by Sev (Jonathan David Cook):
4 more examples
- Okay clankers, suck lasers!2008 October 3, George Lucas, Steven Melching, “Ambush”, in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Jek (Dee Bradley Baker):
- Already can't stand these fucking clankers2024 October 12, @Banbuds, Twitter, archived from the original on 05 Jun 2025:
- Could i call a robot a clanker one day or would i have to stop when they gain conciousness^([sic]) like in Detroit become human2024 October 19, @solid_n8, Instagram, archived from the original on 07 Jun 2025:
- The most popular genre of clanker content are videos of people acting out a future, usually a few decades away, where A.I.-powered robots are so ubiquitous that they become their own kind of second-class citizen. In this future, there is “cross platform” marriage between clankers and humans, humans-only drinking fountains and even more animosity toward robots than today.2025 August 31, Eli Tan, “How ‘Clanker’ Became an Anti-A.I. Rallying Cry”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
Internet, Broadly A person who uses automated technology or generative AI.
- Education is getting overtaken by clankers.
Slang A fib.
- Stop telling clankers!
- Have done with all thought of the fellow and of his clankers concerning his birth.1899, Paul Leicester Ford, Janice Meredith, page 388:
2 more examples
- "What a clanker!" Drusilla protested. "You're hardly setting us a good example, Pa!"2010, Maggie MacKeever, Our Tabby, →ISBN:
- His lips quirked. "It's more likely you'll wish to spend the evening debating whether these clankers his lordship is telling us are true, and how they originated."2020, Anna Lee Huber, A Stroke of Malice, →ISBN, page 41: