redundancy

noun

re·​dun·​dan·​cy ri-ˈdən-dən(t)-sē 

plural redundancies

1

a

: the quality or state of being redundant : superfluity

b

: the use of redundant components

also : such components

c

chiefly British : dismissal from a job especially by layoff

2

: profusion, abundance

3

a

: superfluous repetition : prolixity

b

: an act or instance of needless repetition

4

: the part of a message that can be eliminated without loss of essential information

Did you know?

Redundancy, closely related to redound, has stayed close to the original meaning of "overflow" or "more than necessary". Avoiding redundancy is one of the prime rules of good writing. ""In the modern world of today" contains a redundancy; so does "He died of fatal wounds" and "For the mutual benefit of both parties". But redundancy doesn't just occur in language. "Data redundancy" means keeping the same computer data in more than one place as a safety measure, and a backup system in an airplane may provide redundancy, again for the sake of safety.

Synonyms

• circumlocution
• diffuseness
• diffusion
• garrulity
• garrulousness
• logorrhea
• long-windedness
• periphrasis
• prolixity
• verbalism
• verbiage
• verboseness
• verbosity
• windiness
• wordage
• wordiness

Examples of redundancy in a Sentence

Avoid redundancy in your writing.

Try to avoid using redundancies in your writing.

The design incorporates several redundancies.

a system with a high level of redundancy

The restructuring is expected to result in the redundancy of several hundred workers.

The workers are now facing redundancy.

Recent Examples on the Web

Like a giant Jenga tower, the church contained various building support redundancies, such as buttressing, masonry and tie-rods. —John Penney, Hartford Courant, 26 Jan. 2025

Reusability reduces redundancy and accelerates future test authoring efforts. —Maneesh Sharma, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025

The Red Sox seem willing to move outfielder/DH Masataka Yoshida, given his roster redundancy as a left-handed bat in an already lefty-heavy lineup, not to mention his salary. —Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 12 Dec. 2024

This is not to say that international cooperation should be ignored: maintaining existing partnerships can help to create redundancy across supply chains. —Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

redundancy

noun

re·​dun·​dan·​cy ri-ˈdən-dən-sē 

plural redundancies

1

: the quality or state of being redundant

2

a

: the use of unnecessary words

b

: an act or instance of needless repetition