inefficient
Frequently Asked Questions
- Machines, such as a gas-guzzling car or an old washing machine that uses up a lot of energy. Rube Goldberg machines are intentionally inefficient and overly complicated.
- People, such as a worker who completes tasks in roundabout ways or a runner who exerts unnecessary energy during each stride.
- Processes, such as a project that uses more of the budget than it needs to or involves more employees than is necessary.
- Institutions and organizations. People often accuse the government of being inefficient. An inefficient business is one that uses more resources than are necessary to operate.
- Without my monitor and mouse, I can still get work done, but I’m really inefficient—it takes me an hour to do what usually takes 10 minutes!
- Some people say that the government is too inefficient and should be run like a business.
- My car is so inefficient—it only gets 8 miles to the gallon.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In six career games so far, advanced metrics peg him as one of the most inefficient quarterbacks in modern history.
Out-of-date, inefficient heating and air-conditioning systems labor to keep up.
“Landfills have to monitor surface emissions, but they do that in a very inefficient way, using outdated technology,” Magavern said.
From Los Angeles Times
“Aside from all the moral objections, it was a very inefficient form of hiring temporary workers.”
As in other industries, AI is already streamlining antiquated and inefficient workflows in finance, for example through tools that extract terms from dense financial agreements and develop code.
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
