redundancy

C2 Topic:Work & Careers

US /ɹɪˈdʌndən(t)si/ UK /ɹɪˈdʌnd(ə)nsi/ See IPA manual

Freq #32565

Meanings

1

noun
The loss of a job because the work is no longer needed, or the act of dismissing such workers.

Hundreds of staff faced redundancy when the factory closed.
2

noun
The state of being unnecessary because something is repeated or already provided for.

The new software removed a lot of redundancy from the old system.
3

noun
The use of extra parts or systems so that something keeps working if one part fails.

The aircraft has built-in redundancy in case an engine fails.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the loss of a job because... sacking

2 noun · the state of being... redundance superfluitysuperfluousness

More backup retirement

Opposites

employment hiringnon-redundancy

Word family

Forms redundancies

Derived forms antiredundancycrcgeoredundancy

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

redundancy check
an error-checking method that uses additional information to detect mistakes

Noun + noun

Etymology

From redundant + -cy.

*wed- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Work & Careers Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# redundancy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɹɪˈdʌndən(t)si/
**IPA (UK):** /ɹɪˈdʌnd(ə)nsi/
**Frequency rank:** 32565

## Meanings
1. The loss of a job because the work is no longer needed, or the act of dismissing such workers.
2. The state of being unnecessary because something is repeated or already provided for.
3. The use of extra parts or systems so that something keeps working if one part fails.

## Examples
- Hundreds of staff faced redundancy when the factory closed.
- The new software removed a lot of redundancy from the old system.
- The aircraft has built-in redundancy in case an engine fails.

## Synonyms
- backup
- retirement

## Antonyms
- employment
- hiring
- non-redundancy

## Derived Forms
- antiredundancy
- crc
- georedundancy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *wed-

## Etymology
From redundant + -cy.

## AI Etymology
Redundancy is formed from redundant + -cy. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include *wed- (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include the loss of a job because the work is no longer needed, or the act of dismissing such workers and the state of being unnecessary because something is repeated or already provided for. The wider family includes derived forms such as antiredundancy, crc, and georedundancy.

## Topics
- Work & Careers
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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