nonproductive
adjective
non·pro·duc·tive
ˌnän-prə-ˈdək-tiv 
: not productive: such as
a
: failing to produce or yield : unproductive
a nonproductive oil well
b
: not directly concerned with production
the nonproductive labor of clerks and inspectors
c
of a cough
: dry sense 3a
nonproductiveness
noun
Examples of nonproductive in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Course of trade in the oil industry often leaves the public on the hook for nonproductive well cleanup costs, including capping.
—
Andrew Leahey, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Bring The Office Closer To Them As populations grow, the real challenge of coming to the office is long commute times and the resulting nonproductive cycles.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Course of trade in the oil industry often leaves the public on the hook for nonproductive well cleanup costs, including capping.
—Andrew Leahey, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Bring The Office Closer To Them As populations grow, the real challenge of coming to the office is long commute times and the resulting nonproductive cycles.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Buoyed by the early promise of its Dravet therapeutic, the company developed a second drug candidate, STK-002, that similarly targets splicing to turn nonproductive gene transcripts into constructive ones.
—Elie Dolgin, Discover Magazine, 26 Apr. 2023
Remove all twiggy, dead or nonproductive growth.
—oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2022
But will this calculation include all the opportunity cost of the expenditure of nonproductive effort?
—WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022
In this framework, nonproductive bodies and ways of living become illegitimate in some way.
—John Patrick Leary, The New Republic, 6 Aug. 2021
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Andrew Leahey, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Bring The Office Closer To Them As populations grow, the real challenge of coming to the office is long commute times and the resulting nonproductive cycles.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Course of trade in the oil industry often leaves the public on the hook for nonproductive well cleanup costs, including capping.
—Andrew Leahey, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
Bring The Office Closer To Them As populations grow, the real challenge of coming to the office is long commute times and the resulting nonproductive cycles.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
Buoyed by the early promise of its Dravet therapeutic, the company developed a second drug candidate, STK-002, that similarly targets splicing to turn nonproductive gene transcripts into constructive ones.
—Elie Dolgin, Discover Magazine, 26 Apr. 2023
Remove all twiggy, dead or nonproductive growth.
—oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2022
But will this calculation include all the opportunity cost of the expenditure of nonproductive effort?
—WSJ, 16 Aug. 2022
In this framework, nonproductive bodies and ways of living become illegitimate in some way.
—John Patrick Leary, The New Republic, 6 Aug. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Nonproductive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonproductive. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
nonproductive
adjective
non·pro·duc·tive
ˌnän-prə-ˈdək-tiv
1
: failing to produce : unproductive
a nonproductive oil well
2
: not directly productive
nonproductive labor
Medical Definition
nonproductive
adjective
non·pro·duc·tive
-prə-ˈdək-tiv
of a cough
: not effective in raising mucus or exudate from the respiratory tract : dry sense 2
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share