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garbage in, garbage out

garbage in, garbage out proverb: if input data are not complete, accurate, and timely, then the resulting output is unreliable and useless. If the input is junk, then the output is junk.

Proverb

garbage in, garbage out

  1. If input data are not complete, accurate, and timely, then the resulting output is unreliable and useless. If the input is junk, then the output is junk.
    • Officials explained that the quality of the computer's work depends on the quality of the data fed into it. Neil Hoke, administrative assistant to Stewart, quoted an adage of computer men: "Garbage in, garbage out."1963 April 1, Raymond Crowley, “Robot Tax Collector Seeks Indications of 'Fudging'”, in Times Daily, Alabama, USA, retrieved 26 Jul 2010
    • The old caveat "GIGO"—garbage in, garbage out—is as valid in architectural design as in any other computer-aided activity.2008, Roger K. Lewis, "'In Architectural Design, Brains and Talent Trump the Best Software," Washington Post, 19 July (retrieved 26 July 2010)

Synonyms of garbage in, garbage out

Questions about garbage in, garbage out

What does garbage in, garbage out mean?
Garbage in, garbage out means if input data are not complete, accurate, and timely, then the resulting output is unreliable and useless. If the input is junk, then the output is junk.
What part of speech is garbage in, garbage out?
Garbage in, garbage out is a proverb.

Words near garbage in, garbage out in the dictionary

  1. garbage fly
  2. garbage gleaning
  3. Garbage Grove
  4. garbage heap of history
  5. garbage heaps of history
  6. garbage in, garbage out
  7. Garbage Island
  8. garbage ladies
  9. garbage lady
  10. garbage man
  11. garbage men

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: garbage in, garbage out (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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