work stealing

noun

An algorithm and scheduling strategy for multithreaded computer programs, where a thread can "steal" work from queues of the other threads.

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Meanings

nounwork stealing (uncountable)
  1. uncountablecomputingAn algorithm and scheduling strategy for multithreaded computer programs, where a thread can "steal" work from queues of the other threads.

    An advantage of work stealing is that if all threads are already busy, then they do not waste time trying to offload work on one another.

    2011, Maurice Herlihy, Nir Shavit, The Art of Multiprocessor Programming, Morgan Kaufmann, →ISBN, page 381
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: work stealing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.