shelfware
Americannoun
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Computers. software or hardware that remains unsold, unused, or underused.
shelfware as part of a bundled license deal.
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ideas or findings that are not used or acted upon.
The results of your market research can quickly become shelfware.
Etymology
Origin of shelfware
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.
"A lot of smartwatches out there end up being shelfware."
From Reuters
The product, now called Helion, is widely regarded as being little more than shelfware – actual customer usage is low to non-existent.
From Forbes
“Pure-play EA engagements become shelfware – a set of documents, but nothing comes out of it,” continues Saha.
From Forbes
The “consumerization of enterprise IT” — the idea that business applications are dreadful to use, and had better take their usability cues from consumer apps or else face the inevitable destiny of shelfware — has achieved something akin to lifetime tenure in the minds of analysts and trade press alike.
From Forbes
Many of the single-use fitness devices have lost their user’s attention and become “shelfware.”
From Forbes
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.