Skip to main content
Dictionary
Store
Blog
World
Help
Advertise
Chat
System Status
Information Collection Notice
Trademark Concerns
reCAPTCHA Privacy
Terms of Service
reCAPTCHA Terms
Privacy Policy
Accessibility
Report a Bug
Data Request
Contact Us
Security
DMCA
© 1999–2026 Urban Dictionary ®
Mugs
Tees
Hoodies
Pro Customization
Create unique products with your own words and definitions
Preview
Personalize Your Design
Your Word
Your Definition
A system with fixed structure, clear boundaries, and resistance to change. Solid systems are the rocks of the conceptual world—stable, predictable, reliable, and utterly inflexible. Once they're set, they stay set until something shatters them. Bureaucracies are solid systems—once the rules are in place, they resist all change until crisis forces collapse. Personal habits are solid systems—they persist despite all evidence they should change. Ideologies are solid systems—they maintain their shape regardless of contradictory information. Solid systems are comforting because they're predictable, but deadly because they can't adapt. The only way to change a solid system is to break it and start over, which is why revolutions are so violent and New Year's resolutions so often fail.
Text fits
Save
Cancel