Cruft

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ÊŒft

Origin

Uncertain: possibly from Cruft Hall, the name of the radar laboratory of Harvard's physics department during the Second World War, which contained much old and unused technical equipment; possibly a blend of crust and fluff, both of which suggest things that are obsolete and superfluous; possibly a modified form of crust.

Full definition of cruft

Noun

1. (computing, informal) Anything old or of inferior quality.
2. (computing, informal) Redundant, old or improperly written code, especially that which accumulates over time; clutter.

Derived terms

• crufting
• crufty
• cruftware