tombstone engineering
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
The practice of letting accidents or failures (perhaps occasioning death, but not necessarily) identify engineering problems.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
“As pilots in the USAF, we used the term ‘Tombstone Engineering’ to describe a known potential catastrophic flight event that could have been avoided through additional design and funding, but ended in the death of pilots and/or aircrews, thus forcing that design change/aircraft modification. Emerge
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).
Common questions
What does “tombstone engineering” mean?
The practice of letting accidents or failures (perhaps occasioning death, but not necessarily) identify engineering problems.
Is “tombstone engineering” formal or informal?
tombstone engineering is generally slang.