silo
/ˈsaɪloʊ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.02 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A vertical building, usually cylindrical, used for the production of silage.
noun
An organizational unit that has poor interaction with other units, negatively affecting overall performance.
Derogatory; Informal
noun
A structure in the information system that is poorly networked with other structures, with data exchange hampered.
Derogatory; Informal
noun
A group of like-minded individuals who are not exposed to outside opinions or input.
Derogatory; Slang
Example Sentences
- "As a rule of thumb, to reliably destroy a hardened missile silo or communications bunker, a one megaton warhead should land within a 600 foot radius of its target. This will ensure that the enemy silo lies within the crater gouged out by the nuclear blast."
- "A silo is created when members in one department or function do not interact with those in another department, even though there might be operational benefits to the interaction."
- "Graeme Bickerdike, a member of campaign organisation The HRE Group, told RAIL: "This infilling and demolition programme - costing much more than repair - has been conceived with no thought for its impact beyond the silos where distant, unaccountable officials manage their spreadsheets."
- ""And the mindset of a silo of rail engineers, and a silo of highway engineers, and a silo of bus experts, and a silo of active travel people, you're not going to integrate just because you put them in one organisation. "You have to actively look at ways to cross-fertilise that thinking, to get multi-modal projects hard-wired in. And from our view, I see TfW as a behaviour change organisation."
- "Our networking is organized in silos, and employees lose time manually transferring data."
- "Then there’s the fact that platforms like TikTok tend to silo users based on interests. Niche communities (insert hobby here plus Tok) are thriving, and so a person who may be famous on FarmTok or BookTok may have trouble breaking out of the mold."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: silo
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsaɪloʊ/
- British English: /ˈsaɪləʊ/