nonproductive
Americanadjective
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not productive; unproductive.
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not worthwhile or beneficial; not leading to practical or beneficial results.
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not producing goods directly, as employees in charge of personnel or inspectors.
adjective
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(of workers) not directly responsible for producing goods
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having disappointing results; unproductive
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of nonproductive
First recorded in 1920–25; non- + productive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“While I agree that we need to remove nonproductive turf … when I think of waste, I think about it more in the sense of agriculture, since that’s where we could get the most savings.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 4, 2022
He wrote that Mr. Biden was still experiencing a runny nose and fatigue, and that he had an “occasional nonproductive, now ‘loose’ cough.”
From New York Times • Jul. 22, 2022
Meanwhile, the Mariners offense was sluggish and nonproductive against Royals starter Kris Bubic.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 18, 2021
While these and other studies show the tantalizing promise of boredom, scholars don’t yet know how bored people, in moments of boredom, choose productive vs. nonproductive paths.
From Washington Post • Mar. 27, 2020
As I have said time and again, the city itself is nonproductive, and cannot supply its own food.
From Down with the Cities by Nakashima, Tadashi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
