surplus to requirements
- idiom
:
sobrante
Examples
-
These people are simply surplus to requirements.
Blog text (11) -
Termination of employment: Due to your failure to achieve your efficiency and cost-benefit targets, you are declared surplus to requirements.
Fiction book (1995) -
She stood feeling utterly surplus to requirements, in fact, in every way, and listened to Seb chatting away animatedly to the exquisite newcomer.
Fiction book (2001) -
After the department downsized, many employees were left feeling surplus to requirements, as their roles were no longer necessary.
-
With the new software update, many features became surplus to requirements and were removed to streamline the interface.
-
The outdated equipment sitting in the storage room was deemed surplus to requirements and sold off to clear space.
Synonyms
300
1.6
More than is needed or wanted
49
5.1
More than needed and not useful because it repeats something
7
2.3
Not necessary or useful in a situation
1
3.4
More than what is needed or wanted
Antonyms
How Unnecessary
Surface Forms
Morphology
surplus + to + requirement
The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'surplus' = excess and 'requirements' = needs, with 'to' linking the excess to what is required, so it literally means more than is needed. Although it is a fixed, somewhat formal collocation (common in British English), the compositional logic is clear and has close equivalents in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the parts should understand it.
Etymology
Surplus to requirements paints a simple picture: think of someone making a list of what a team or shop really needs — anything extra, the surplus, is beyond the requirements and can be left out. That's why it means 'more than what is needed' or 'no longer necessary'.