What does inefficient mean?
Inefficient describes a person, process, system, or practice that does not make the best use of time, energy, money, materials, or other resources. It is commonly used to criticize work that is completed but involves unnecessary delay, expense, repetition, or effort. An inefficient system may function, but it performs its task less effectively than a better-designed alternative. The word appears frequently in discussions of business productivity, engineering, transportation, energy use, and public administration. In environmental contexts, an energy-inefficient building or device uses more energy than necessary for the same practical result. Although ineffective focuses on whether a result is achieved, inefficient focuses on the wastefulness of the method. The adjective is derived from inefficiency, which in turn comes from efficient.
adjectiveNot achieving maximum productivity or using resources, time, or effort effectively. An inefficient process, system, or person wastes resources or accomplishes less than it could.
- Not working with maximum effectiveness; wasting time, energy, money, or other resources.
"The team redesigned its inefficient approval process to save time."
"The inefficient design made every journey take longer than necessary."
"She was praised for identifying inefficient practices in the manufacturing process."
Inefficiency hides in plain sight: the work gets done, but often at a much higher cost than it needs to be.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does inefficient come from?
Inefficient comes from the Latin-based word efficient, meaning effective or productive, with the prefix in- added to express a contrary meaning. The family ultimately traces to Latin efficere, “to bring about” or “to accomplish,” and its adjective efficax, “effective” or “capable of achieving results.” English borrowed the root in forms such as efficient and efficiency during the 16th century, and inefficient developed as a parallel adjective meaning not efficient.
Related word forms
How inefficient is actually used
The term is widely used in technical, business, economic, and environmental contexts. It is often more specific than ineffective, because it suggests that some result is achieved but the method is wasteful or unnecessarily slow.
Easily confused with inefficient
An ineffective method fails to produce the intended result, whereas an inefficient method may produce a result but does so with avoidable waste of time, energy, or other resources.