overkill
Americannoun
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the capacity of a nation to destroy, by nuclear weapons, more of an enemy than would be necessary for a military victory.
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an instance of such destruction.
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an excess of what is required or suitable, as because of zeal or misjudgment.
noun
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the capability to deploy more weapons, esp nuclear weapons, than is necessary to ensure military advantage
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any capacity or treatment that is greater than that required or appropriate
Etymology
Origin of overkill
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Calling it a “surgical procedure” is almost overkill.
From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026
To see this served up over and over again in a genre that an expanse of queer women enjoy, and spend money on to support, is just overkill.
From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026
She left partly because she was ordering a lot of tests that seemed like overkill.
From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025
This may seem like overkill, but the strategy helped Joy and her husband pay off $300,000 in debt within three years and retire by age 40.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 11, 2025
Recounted in numberless articles and books, the Maya collapse has become an ecological parable for green activists; along with Pleistocene overkill, it is a favorite cautionary tale about surpassing the limits of Nature.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
