Osborne effect

proper noun

The phenomenon whereby the premature announcement of a new product leads customers to cancel or defer orders for the existing product, since it will soon become obsolete.

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Meanings

proper nounthe Osborne effect
  1. The phenomenon whereby the premature announcement of a new product leads customers to cancel or defer orders for the existing product, since it will soon become obsolete.

Origin

In reference to the Osborne Computer Corporation, a company that took more than a year to make its next product available, and eventually went bankrupt in 1983.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Osborne effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Osborne%20effect

MLA

“Osborne effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Osborne%20effect. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Osborne effect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Osborne%20effect.

Source: Osborne effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.