Assembler: A small nano-robotic device that can use surrounding chemicals to manufacture nanoscale products. Advanced assembler designs could work together to build macroscale products; this would require motion and navigation capabilities.

Convergent assembly: A process of fastening small parts to obtain larger parts, then fastening those to make still larger parts, and so on. Convergent assembly can be used to build a product from many, much smaller, components.

MNT: An abbreviation for molecular nanotechnology; refers to the concept of building complicated machines out of precisely designed molecules.

Macroscale: Larger than nanoscale; often implies a design that humans can directly interact with. Too large to be built by a single assembler (one cubic micron of diamond contains 176 billion atoms).

Mechanochemistry: Chemistry accomplished by mechanical systems directly controlling the reactant molecules.

Molecular manufacturing: The building of complex structures by mechanochemical processes.

Nanofactory: A self-contained macroscale manufacturing system, consisting of many molecular manufacturing systems feeding a convergent assembly system.

Nanomechanical: Being mechanical and very small; for example, a robot that can manipulate single molecules. 

Nanoscale: Significantly smaller than a micron; on the scale of large molecules; capable of interacting with molecules; capable of being built by a single assembler.

SNT: An abbreviation for structural nanotechnology; refers to integration of nanotech features into non-nanotech products.