Definition of redundancy in English:

nounredundancies

• 1The state of being not or no longer needed or useful.

  ‘the redundancy of 19th-century heavy plant machinery’

  More example sentences

  • ‘As I have been writing for years with stupefying redundancy - and obvious lack of success - this idea is a hoax.’
  • ‘Sure, there's a good deal of redundancy here, but such redundancy is often rhetorically valuable.’
  • ‘Worse still, the electro beat that underscores most of the album wears thin to the point of redundancy by the time the closing track rolls around.’
  • ‘Singles are one of the most deceptive pieces of redundancy every created in music (topped only by the entire pop-punk genre).’
  • ‘To me it's about middle-management types not being able to let go and trust a professional to do what they can't, lest redundancy of their job be revealed.’

  Synonyms

  superfluity, unnecessariness, expendability, uselessness, excess

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1British The state of being no longer in employment because there is no more work available.
     ‘the factory's workers face redundancy’
     count noun ‘the car giant is expected to announce around 5,000 redundancies’
     More example sentences

     • ‘The march was led by a contingent of Fiat car workers who are fighting redundancies.’
     • ‘Mr Moss said voluntary redundancies were preferable over compulsory redundancies.’
     • ‘However, bosses have told workers that they are not planning any compulsory redundancies.’
     • ‘Staff do not yet know which of them will be laid off, but were told the redundancies would be made in the next year.’
     • ‘One member of staff said workers were in tears when they were told of the redundancies.’
     • ‘While there will be some staff leaving employment this week, no new redundancies are being announced.’
     • ‘The debt is causing concern among staff that redundancies may follow.’
     • ‘They will discuss ways of reducing the workforce by 130 through voluntary redundancies.’
     • ‘The gap between rich and poor has widened and Brenda has seen people suddenly move from comfortable middle class lives to the poverty trap through redundancy or illness.’
     • ‘Bradford College is offering staff voluntary redundancy to help pull itself out of a projected deficit of at least £1.3 million.’
     • ‘Many are having great difficulties keeping their dignity in a culture where redundancy is still equated with incompetence and laziness.’
     • ‘Companies have looked at options other than redundancy, with 50% of companies considering short-time working.’
     • ‘The workforce has been reduced by voluntary redundancy from 380 to 310, with the removal of 40 temporary workers and 30 permanently employed.’
     • ‘But they have offered just two weeks' redundancy, the statutory amount, 60% of which will be paid by the government.’
     • ‘Meanwhile, there are fears some temporary staff may be laid off this week and 45 trainee pilots are also facing immediate redundancy.’
     • ‘The firm said it hoped many of the job losses would be through voluntary redundancy.’
     • ‘It is offering a voluntary severance package to its 900 staff - compulsory redundancy will follow if necessary.’
     • ‘But they can't rule out the possibility of redundancy.’
     • ‘When it went into administration in May, more than 2,500 lost their jobs and there was fury that many were notified of their redundancy by phone text message.’
     • ‘About 60 per cent of the insurance premium paid is to provide for redundancy.’
     Synonyms

     sacking, dismissal, lay-off, discharge, notice

     View synonyms
  2. 1.2Engineering The inclusion of extra components which are not strictly necessary to functioning, in case of failure in other components.
     ‘a high degree of redundancy is built into the machinery installation’
     More example sentences

     • ‘The helicopter systems and components have redundancy, the duplicated systems being installed on opposite sides of the fuselage.’
     • ‘Without an understanding of where breakdowns and failures occur, redundancy is the insurance policy.’
     • ‘This level of redundancy exists not only at the component level, but also at the distribution level.’
     • ‘Two of the most important factors structural engineers have to consider are robustness and redundancy.’
     • ‘The higher the availability requirements, the more redundancy and component removability you require.’