technical debt
compound.compound. the extra work you have to do later because you chose an easy or fast solution now instead of a better one. It is like borrowing time from the future to finish a project quickly today.
compound. the implied cost of future reworking required when choosing an easy but limited solution instead of a better approach that would take longer. This metaphorical debt accumulates through quick fixes and poor design, eventually slowing down future development.
We need to fix our technical debt before adding new features.
The startup launched their app quickly to beat competitors, but they now struggle with technical debt that makes every update difficult.
While taking on technical debt can be a strategic move to meet a critical deadline, failing to pay it down through refactoring eventually leads to a state of software rot.
Coined by Ward Cunningham in 1992, the term applies a financial metaphor to software development to describe the long-term costs of expedient design choices.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Typically used in software engineering and project management; often paired with verbs like 'accrue', 'accumulate', or 'repay'.
Last updated July 22, 2026