"solution in search of a problem" meaning in All languages combined

See solution in search of a problem on Wiktionary

Noun [English]

IPA: /səˈluːʃən ɪn ˈsɝt͡ʃ əv ə ˈpɹɑbləm/ [General-American], /səˈl(j)uːʃən ɪn ˈsɜːt͡ʃ əv ə ˈpɹɒbləm/ [Received-Pronunciation] Forms: solutions in search of problems [plural], solutions in search of a problem [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun|solutions in search of problems|solutions in search of a problem}} solution in search of a problem (plural solutions in search of problems or solutions in search of a problem)
  1. A proposal that does not solve any problem or provide any value; or one that is intended to fill a need which does not really exist. Synonyms: solution looking for a problem Translations (proposal to fix a problem which does not really exist): Lösung auf der Suche nach einem Problem (German)

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "solutions in search of problems",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "solutions in search of a problem",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "solutions in search of problems",
        "2": "solutions in search of a problem"
      },
      "expansion": "solution in search of a problem (plural solutions in search of problems or solutions in search of a problem)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "so‧lu‧tion‧in‧search‧of‧a‧prob‧lem"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Some teachers complained that the new online grading software was a solution in search of a problem.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Peter Lucas, Joe Ballay, Mickey McManus, Trillions: Thriving in the Emerging Information Ecology, page 200:",
          "text": "The early days of the PC were a classic case of a solution in search of a problem. It was pretty obvious that a computer-on-your-desk was an exciting prospect and had to be good for something. But what?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A proposal that does not solve any problem or provide any value; or one that is intended to fill a need which does not really exist."
      ],
      "id": "en-solution_in_search_of_a_problem-en-noun-mjbKUNAZ",
      "links": [
        [
          "proposal",
          "proposal"
        ],
        [
          "problem",
          "problem"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "solution looking for a problem"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "proposal to fix a problem which does not really exist",
          "word": "Lösung auf der Suche nach einem Problem"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/səˈluːʃən ɪn ˈsɝt͡ʃ əv ə ˈpɹɑbləm/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/səˈl(j)uːʃən ɪn ˈsɜːt͡ʃ əv ə ˈpɹɒbləm/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "solution in search of a problem"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "solutions in search of problems",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "solutions in search of a problem",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "solutions in search of problems",
        "2": "solutions in search of a problem"
      },
      "expansion": "solution in search of a problem (plural solutions in search of problems or solutions in search of a problem)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "so‧lu‧tion‧in‧search‧of‧a‧prob‧lem"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with German translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Some teachers complained that the new online grading software was a solution in search of a problem.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Peter Lucas, Joe Ballay, Mickey McManus, Trillions: Thriving in the Emerging Information Ecology, page 200:",
          "text": "The early days of the PC were a classic case of a solution in search of a problem. It was pretty obvious that a computer-on-your-desk was an exciting prospect and had to be good for something. But what?",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A proposal that does not solve any problem or provide any value; or one that is intended to fill a need which does not really exist."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "proposal",
          "proposal"
        ],
        [
          "problem",
          "problem"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "solution looking for a problem"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/səˈluːʃən ɪn ˈsɝt͡ʃ əv ə ˈpɹɑbləm/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/səˈl(j)uːʃən ɪn ˈsɜːt͡ʃ əv ə ˈpɹɒbləm/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "proposal to fix a problem which does not really exist",
      "word": "Lösung auf der Suche nach einem Problem"
    }
  ],
  "word": "solution in search of a problem"
}

Download raw JSONL data for solution in search of a problem meaning in All languages combined (2.0kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-03-09 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-03-02 using wiktextract (32c88e6 and 633533e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.