glitch
GLICH
/ɡlɪtʃ/
A sudden, temporary, and minor malfunction or fault in equipment, software, or a plan.
A glitch is typically self-correcting, brief, or minor, unlike an outage which is a prolonged and severe failure.
The story behind the word. Likely derived from the Yiddish word 'glitshn', meaning 'to slip or slide'. It entered English slang via radio and television engineers in the 1940s and was popularized by American astronauts in the 1960s to describe sudden, brief electrical slips in spacecraft hardware.
Word relationships
- bug: A bug is an error in software code that consistently causes incorrect behavior, whereas a glitch is often a transient, one-off hardware or software hiccup.
- stability: Stability refers to a state of consistent, error-free operation, which is the opposite of experiencing glitches.
Commonly confused with
- defect: A defect is a fundamental flaw in design or manufacturing, whereas a glitch is a minor, often temporary operational hiccup.
Word family
- glitchy (adjective): Sufferring from frequent, minor technical malfunctions.
Collocations
- minor glitch
- software glitch
- experience a glitch
Example sentences
- "A temporary glitch in the software caused the screen to flicker, but restarting the application resolved it." A user reporting a minor interface issue.
Memory hook
Think of a 'glitch' as a digital 'itch'—a minor, annoying irritation that goes away quickly once addressed. A sudden slip in the system.
When not to use
Do not use to describe a catastrophic, permanent system failure that requires rebuilding the entire network.
Fun facts
- Astronaut John Glenn helped popularize 'glitch' in his 1962 book 'Into Orbit', where he described it as a spike in electrical voltage.
Related words
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