planned obsolescence


noun
  1. a method of stimulating consumer demand by designing products that wear out or become outmoded after limited use.

Origin of planned obsolescence

1
First recorded in 1965–70
  • Also called built-in obsolescence.

Words Nearby planned obsolescence

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How to use planned obsolescence in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for planned obsolescence

planned obsolescence

noun
  1. the policy of deliberately limiting the life of a product in order to encourage the purchaser to replace it: Also called: built-in obsolescence

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for planned obsolescence

planned obsolescence

[ (ob-suh-les-uhns) ]


Incorporating into a product features that will almost certainly go out of favor in a short time, thereby inducing the consumer to purchase a new model of the product. Placing sweeping tail fins on an automobile was an example of planned obsolescence.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.