overspend
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
-
to spend in excess of (one's desires or what one can afford or is allocated)
-
(tr; usually passive) to wear out; exhaust
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overspendsimple
-
overspendssimple
-
have overspentperfect
-
has overspentperfect
-
am overspendingprogressive
-
are overspendingprogressive
-
is overspendingprogressive
-
have been overspendingperfect progressive
-
has been overspendingperfect progressive
Past
-
overspentsimple
-
had overspentperfect
-
was overspendingprogressive
-
were overspendingprogressive
-
had been overspendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overspend
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.
See Examples For:
I either overspend on food items, failing to take advantage of hidden deals as I frantically yet desperately attempt to restock my kitchen.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
While I was happy with the shift in my priorities, I did find myself easily tempted to overspend, just as I had with going out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
The commission ruled that it should be 36 months meaning the club's overspend of the EFL's rules during that period was £20.8m above the £83m limit.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026
That overspend is being artificially held off council budgets until 2028.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
I am never called anything but Mollie, except when I overspend my allowance, and mother feels it her duty to scold me.
From The Fortunes of the Farrells by Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.
He adds that, unlike rivals, Apple doesn’t have a cloud business to sell excess compute if it overspends on AI data centers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
Carmy tends to brush off nearly all of her concepts, making Syd question whether she can find the culinary success that’s long eluded her at the side of a colleague who overspends and overreaches.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2025
It said this could “constitute one of the largest year-ahead overspends against... forecasts outside of the pandemic years”.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2024
It would also allow budget overspends at Stormont from last year and this year to be repaid over five years.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2023
If he overspends his money he is bankrupt, and the person who overspends his strength is for the time physically bankrupt.
From A Practical Physiology by Blaisdell, Albert F.
Stocks sold off rapidly on worries that U.S. companies had overspent, but bounced back and continued climbing later in the year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
Or they overspent on infrastructure they couldn’t operationalize and are now cutting to manage cash flow.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 4, 2025
It is running a decade late and has overspent by billions of pounds.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2025
They’re struggling, they’re in debt, they’re broke, they barely made rent, they’ve overspent, they’re asking for help.
From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2024
His aunt said, “He has overspent his power,” but she had no art to help him.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Mark Chamberlin, the school’s controller between 2021 and 2023, said he was startled by how weak financial management was, with few internal controls, poor record-keeping and few consequences when overspending came to light.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
It was part of a wider stock selloff amid fears that big tech companies are overspending on artificial intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Investors haven’t been convinced thus far, as fears of AI overspending led to a broad selloff in the “Magnificent Seven” names in June.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Hull would argue that this is not a result of regular operational overspending.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform.
From The 2005 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency
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.
