redundancy
redundancy Lexical Profile
redundancy Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The state of being no longer needed or useful, especially because of superfluous repetition in language or excess capacity.
"The editor cut several paragraphs to eliminate redundancy and make the essay more concise."
British The dismissal of an employee from a job because the position is no longer needed by the employer.
"Hundreds of factory workers faced compulsory redundancy when the company relocated its manufacturing overseas."
The deliberate inclusion of duplicate or backup components in an engineering or computer system so that it continues to function if a primary component fails.
"Commercial aircraft are built with multiple layers of redundancy in their flight control systems to ensure passenger safety."
Word Nuance & Usage
In everyday writing, redundancy carries a negative connotation of wasteful repetition, whereas in engineering and information technology it is a positive design feature referring to backup components that prevent system failure.
• Rhymes for redundancy
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed around 1600 from Latin redundantia ('an overflowing, excess'), from redundare ('to overflow, surge back'), formed from red- ('back, again') and undare ('to rise in waves'), from unda ('a wave').