redundant

American  

[ri-duhn-duhnt] / rɪˈdʌn dənt /

adjective

1. exceeding what is needed or useful; superfluous.

   You can shorten the article by omitting these redundant paragraphs.

   I decided that a sixth pair of dress shoes was redundant.

   Synonyms:

   tautological, superfluous, useless, excessive

2. characterized by unnecessary words or repetition; verbose.

   He writes in a redundant style.

   Synonyms:

   repetitive, verbose

3. serving or added as a backup; extra.

   If the latch fails on this backwards-opening car hood, the wind will blow it down rather than up, so a redundant latch is not needed.

4. having one or more extra or duplicate parts or features.

   The genetic code is redundant, meaning that more than one codon can map to the same amino acid.

5. Chiefly British. (of a worker) laid off or unemployed.

   If the mine were to close, the result would be 183 redundant workers.

6. Computers.

   1. (of code, or of a signal communicating a message) including or encoding more than the required information, so as to provide a fallback, a means of validating data, an accommodation for different platforms, etc.

   2. (of network or system components) providing an additional traffic path or storage place for data, so that if one fails, the other can take over or serve as backup.

7. Engineering.

   1. (of a structural member or part) designed to withstand stresses greater than or different from those that can be calculated or predicted.

   2. (of a structure) having members or parts designed to withstand stresses that cannot be calculated or predicted.

   3. (of a complete truss) having additional members enabling it to withstand loads that are not centered.

   4. (of a device, circuit, etc.) having extra or duplicate parts that can serve as a backup in case other parts malfunction.

8. Linguistics. including or encoding more information than is necessary for communication: for example, in my three sons, the plural ending "-s" on sons is redundant because three already indicates plurality.

9. extremely lush or abundant.

   The jungle, with its exuberant, redundant vegetation, hides bizarre and exotic creatures.

---

redundant British  

/ rɪˈdʌndənt /

adjective

1. surplus to requirements; unnecessary or superfluous

2. verbose or tautological

3. deprived of one's job because it is no longer necessary for efficient operation

   he has been made redundant

4. (of components, information, etc) duplicated or added as a precaution against failure, error, etc

---

Related Words

See wordy.

Other Word Forms

• redundantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of redundant

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin redundant-, stem of redundāns “flowing back, being excessive,” present participle of redundāre “to flow back, overflow, be excessive”; redound ( def. ), -ant ( def. )

Example Sentences

Behavioral economics, like “lived experience,” existed long before anyone thought a special and seemingly redundant name was required.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the Global Settlement isn’t redundant—that’s why banks are eager to avoid the regulation.

From The Wall Street Journal

In October of last year Mr Thompson, who has more than 20 years of experience in the tech sector, was made redundant from a start-up.

From BBC

When streaming services—like Netflix and Warner’s HBO Max—combine, they pool their content libraries, eliminate redundant expenses, and create a more stable business model that benefits viewers and streamers alike.

From The Wall Street Journal

The author is also unconvincing when he claims that the Great Powers are a redundant category.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• superfluous
• unnecessary