Wikipedia defines tautology well:
In grammar, a tautology (from Greek tauto, “the same” and logos, “word/idea”) is an unnecessary repetition of meaning, using more than one word effectively to say the same thing (often originally from different languages). It is considered a fault of style and was defined by A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (Fowler) as “saying the same thing twice”, when it is not apparently necessary to repeat the entire meaning of a phrase. “Fatal murder” is an example of a tautology. If a part of the meaning is repeated in such a way that it appears as unintentional, or clumsy, then it may be described as tautological. On the other hand, a repetition of meaning that improves the style of a piece of speech or writing is not necessarily tautological.
Tautology is usually used in error and here are some example sentences:
He went there personally.
The evening sunset was golden.
My first priority is to quit smoking.
There is a lot of frozen ice in winter.
I heard the story with my own ears.
Scientists like making predictions about the future.
The hospital is in close proximity to the school.
The Sahara is a very dry desert.
In my opinion, I think she is right.
Having an eye test is a necessary requirement for passing the driving test.
She is a dark-haired brunette.
He wrote an autobiography of his own life.
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