botnet

noun

bot·​net ˈbät-ˌnet How to pronounce botnet (audio)
: a network of computers that have been linked together by malware : a network of bots (see bot entry 1 sense 2b)
Criminals link hijacked personal computers together to form "botnets"—clusters of infected PCs that spammers can control from anywhere in the world.—Dave Mosher

Examples of botnet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Intruding traffic attempted to install multiple malicious apps that made SuperBoxes a node in yet another proxy network or join botnets for use in DDoS attacks. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026 Once the device is infected, the malware downloads additional packages designed to join the device to a botnet used for malicious proxy services and ad fraud. — Alan Henry, PC Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026 In 2024, federal agents disabled a botnet made up of hundreds of thousands of infected IoT devices associated with Flax Typhoon. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 28 Aug. 2026 According to Lumen Black Lotus Labs the global scale of botnets observed by Lumen is currently approaching 60 million victim IP addresses. — Chuck Brooks, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for botnet

Word History

Etymology

bot entry 1 + net entry 1

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of botnet was in 2003

Rhymes for botnet

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Browse Nearby Words

bothy
botnet
boto
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Cite this Entry

“Botnet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/botnet. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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