Synonyms

overstock

American

[oh-ver-stok, oh-ver-stok] / ˌoʊ vərˈstɒk, ˈoʊ vərˌstɒk /

verb (used with object)

to stock to excess.

We are overstocked on this item.

noun

a stock that is larger than the actual need or demand.

overstock British

/ ˌəʊvəˈstɒk /

verb

to hold or supply (a commodity) in excess of requirements
to run more farm animals on (a piece of land) than it is capable of maintaining

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of overstock

First recorded in 1555–65; over- + stock

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.

Or, I overstock ingredients, failing to take inventory of what I already have and letting them rot in the hidden corners of the vegetable crisper.

From Salon • May 30, 2026

Grocery Outlet, founded in 1946 in San Francisco, is known for selling discounted overstock items, such as holiday foods and drinks nearing expiration.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

During the early days of selling books online, he bought publisher overstock and made a nice living on eBay before Amazon put the squeeze on retail prices.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

Several companies are building marketplaces that aggregate idle capacity — consumer GPUs, academic clusters, enterprise overstock — and resell it at a fraction of centralized data-center costs.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 3, 2025

I’d grabbed it at work, overstock they were looking to dump, and now I knew why: It was disgusting.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023