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

The law aims to reduce redundancy in the review process and support more efficient hiring. —Alonzo Martinez, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025

Ratcliffe’s overseeing of two rounds of redundancies since his Old Trafford arrival in February 2024 has been undertaken with those figures in mind, though whether United can continue to operate as one of the world’s biggest clubs after 450 jobs were cut remains to be seen. —Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 14 May 2025

The overhaul was billed as being about administrative redundancies. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 14 May 2025

Kennedy described his downsizing of the sprawling $1.7 trillion-a-year agency — from 82,000 workers to 62,000 — as necessary cost-cutting measures that have reduced redundancies. —Amanda Seitz, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025

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