English · Slang Attested

cruft

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Meaning · English

Anything that is old or of inferior quality.

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

Students “still think of privacy as ‘the one secret I don’t want revealed,’ and that’s not the problem. Their problem is all the stuff that’s the cruft, the data dandruff, of life, that they don’t think of as secret in any way, but which aggregates to stuff that they don't want anybody to know,” Mog

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Meaning · English

Redundant, old or improperly written code, especially that which accumulates over time.

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Meaning · English

Meaningless or gratuitous content displayed on computer consoles in visual entertainment productions.

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “cruft” mean?

Anything that is old or of inferior quality.

Is “cruft” formal or informal?

cruft is generally slang.