1.(n) Software that comes pre-installed on a computer. Bloatware generally comes on a PC made by a major manufacturer (i.e. HP, Dell, Toshiba). Most Bloatware is considered to be a useless piece of software that is intended for no other purpose than taking up hard drive space.

2.(n) Software that comes piggy-backed on other software installations. piggy-backing bloatware usually includes toolbars, desktop widgets or external unrelated applications. Most piggy-backing bloatware can perform a mundane task that is generally non-essential to every day computer use.

A piece of software, hardware or website that attempts to do too much and becomes utterly useless for users. An example of bloatware would be a word processing application that also tries to be your page layout program, drawing tool, and web browser; absorbing half your hard drive and all your RAM in the process.