catastrophic backtracking

noun

An excessively large amount of backtracking that occurs with certain regular expressions, due to an exponentially large number of possible matching paths to check.

Similar
runaway backtracking
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Meanings

nouncatastrophic backtracking (uncountable)
  1. uncountableregular expressionscomputerAn excessively large amount of backtracking that occurs with certain regular expressions, due to an exponentially large number of possible matching paths to check.

    Synonyms: runaway backtracking

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn excessively large amount of backtracking that occurs with certain regular expressions, due to an exponentially large number of possible matching paths to check.

Similar
runaway backtracking
Also see
runaway backtracking

Origin

From catastrophic + backtracking.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

catastrophic backtracking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catastrophic%20backtracking

MLA

“catastrophic backtracking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/catastrophic%20backtracking. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

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

Source: catastrophic backtracking on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.