overweight

[ adjective oh-ver-weyt; noun oh-ver-weyt; verb oh-ver-weyt ]

adjective

1. weighing too much or more than is considered normal, proper, etc.:

   overweight luggage; an overweight patient; two letters that may be overweight.

noun

1. extra or excess weight above what law or regulation allows, as of baggage or freight:

   The overweight will cost us $12.

2. weight in excess of that considered normal, proper, healthful, etc.:

   Overweight in a child should not be neglected.

3. greater effect or importance; preponderance.

verb (used with object)

1. to weight excessively; exceed the weight limit of.
2. to give too much consideration or emphasis to; stress unduly.

overweight

adjective

1. weighing more than is usual, allowed, or healthy
2. finance
   1. having a higher proportion of one's investments in a particular sector of the market than the size of that sector relative to the total market would suggest: portfolio managers are currently overweight in bonds
   2. (of a fund etc) invested disproportionately in this way

noun

1. extra or excess weight
2. archaic.
   greater importance or effect

verb

1. to give too much emphasis or consideration to
2. to add too much weight to
3. to weigh down

Word History and Origins

Origin of overweight¹

First recorded in 1545–55; over- + weight

Example Sentences

Stuart ended up with an overweight truck the same way most other Tacoma owners do.

From Outside Online

As patients become overweight, their bodies start losing the ability to regulate the insulin hormone properly, which in turn affects how the body absorbs and uses glucose.

From Ozy

While nearly 24 percent of adults in the District are considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half the city’s residents are considered at least overweight.

From Washington Post

In addition, the boundaries some health officials draw between what is “normal” and what is “overweight” have changed over time.

From Science News For Students

“Obesity was ignored for the longest time and overweight was completely ignored,” said Barry Popkin, an obesity researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

From Washington Post

Especially in the U.S., where fast food restaurants are abundant and two-thirds of people are overweight or obese.

From The Daily Beast

“The first version looked exactly like Rand, but he was about 50 pounds overweight,” Stinnett laughed.

From The Daily Beast

I would have put him in the film even if he stayed overweight.

From The Daily Beast

But I absolutely hate talking to patients about being overweight.

From The Daily Beast

When students are overweight or obese, well-balanced meals are especially important.

From The Daily Beast

In this particular case you forget that you asked the Question whether your letters were not overweight.

From Project Gutenberg

While it is dangerous to be under weight in the early years of life, it is at least as dangerous to be overweight in middle life.

From Project Gutenberg

You can count on the fingers of one hand all the really overweight ones you ever knew.

From Project Gutenberg

They are usually overweight, and there is need to reduce the amount they eat.

From Project Gutenberg

If he is not distinctly overweight this will do harm rather than good.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• corpulent
• obese
• pudgy