Wirth's law

proper noun

The observation that, over time, software gets slower more rapidly than hardware gets faster.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. computerThe observation that, over time, software gets slower more rapidly than hardware gets faster.

Origin

Named after computer scientist Niklaus Wirth, who discussed it in his 1995 article "A Plea for Lean Software".

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Wirth's law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wirth's%20law

MLA

“Wirth's law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wirth's%20law. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Wirth's law,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Wirth's%20law.

Source: Wirth's law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.