lazy evaluation

noun

Any of a variety of computing techniques that delay the computation of expressions until (and unless) the results are needed.

Opposite
eager evaluationstrict evaluation
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Meanings

nounlazy evaluation (plural lazy evaluations)

plural lazy evaluations

  1. computingAny of a variety of computing techniques that delay the computation of expressions until (and unless) the results are needed.

    By default, Haskell uses an execution strategy called lazy evaluation. Under laziness, an expression is never evaluated until it is needed for the evaluation of a larger one.

    [2014, Alejandro Serrano Mena, Beginning Haskell: A Project-Based Approach, Apress, →ISBN, page 5

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
eager evaluationstrict evaluation
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: lazy evaluation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.