What does redundance mean?
Redundancy is the condition of being excessive, unnecessary, or repeated without adding meaningful information. It commonly describes writing that says the same thing several times, but it can also refer to surplus staff, objects, or backup components. The idea is not simply repetition: what makes redundancy objectionable is that the repetition contributes little or nothing beyond what has already been communicated or provided. Redundancy can sometimes be useful, especially in engineering, communications, or data systems, where extra components or alternative routes allow a system to continue functioning if one part fails. In British workplace language, redundancy has the additional meaning of dismissal because a role is no longer required, while American usage more often speaks of layoffs. The word is useful because it identifies a common kind of inefficiency in language and organization without merely calling it unnecessary or excessive.
nounRedundancy is the state of being unnecessary, excessive, or repeated without added value, as in duplicated wording or surplus components in a system. In British English, it can also mean dismissal because a job has been made unnecessary.
- Unnecessary repetition of information, wording, or features.
- A superfluous person, thing, amount, or component.
- The state of a system containing more capacity or backup resources than it strictly requires.
- Dismissal of an employee because a position is no longer required.
"The report was so repetitive that its redundancy obscured the essential findings."
"Editing the draft removed considerable redundancy and made the argument much clearer."
"The factory closure resulted in hundreds of redundancies."
Plural redundancies commonly refer to individual workers made redundant in British English; the abstract concept of redundancy is usually uncountable.
"The company announced fifty further redundancies before the end of the year."
Redundancy originally meant a surging back or overflow: even the word's classical root carries the idea of more than enough.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does redundance come from?
The word ultimately derives from Latin redundare, meaning “to surge back” or “overflow,” through the related adjective redundant. English developed redundancy from the same Latin family, with its sense extending from surplus or excess to unnecessary repetition. Related forms include redundant, redundancy, and redundantly, while modern technical usage extends the idea of surplus capacity to systems designed with backup resources.
Related word forms
How redundance is actually used
The abstract sense is usually uncountable, while plural forms are especially common in British workplace contexts for individual dismissals. In American English, “layoff” or “job elimination” is generally more common than “redundancy” for that employment sense. The systems and engineering sense is conventional and neutral in technical writing.
Easily confused with redundance
Redundancy is the noun naming an unnecessary duplication or excess, whereas redundant is the adjective describing something that is unnecessary or repeats something already expressed.