overcast
Americanadjective
-
overspread or covered with clouds; cloudy.
an overcast day.
-
Meteorology. (of the sky) more than 95 percent covered by clouds.
-
dark; gloomy.
-
Sewing. sewn by overcasting.
verb (used with object)
-
overcasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overcast,
past participle, past
-
overcasting
present participle
-
to overcloud, darken, or make gloomy.
Ominous clouds began to overcast the sky.
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to sew with stitches passing successively over an edge, especially long stitches set at intervals to prevent raveling.
verb (used without object)
-
overcasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overcast,
past participle, past
-
overcasting
present participle
noun
-
Meteorology. the condition of the sky when more than 95 percent covered by clouds.
-
Mining. a crossing of two passages, as airways, dug at the same level, in which one rises to pass over the other without opening into it.
adjective
-
covered over or obscured, esp by clouds
-
meteorol (of the sky) more than 95 per cent cloud-covered
-
gloomy or melancholy
-
sewn over by overcasting
verb
-
to make or become overclouded or gloomy
-
to sew (an edge, as of a hem) with long stitches passing successively over the edge
noun
-
a covering, as of clouds or mist
-
meteorol the state of the sky when more than 95 per cent of it is cloud-covered
-
mining a crossing of two passages without an intersection
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overcastsimple
-
overcastssimple
-
have overcastperfect
-
has overcastperfect
-
am overcastingprogressive
-
are overcastingprogressive
-
is overcastingprogressive
-
have been overcastingperfect progressive
-
has been overcastingperfect progressive
Past
-
overcastsimple
-
had overcastperfect
-
was overcastingprogressive
-
were overcastingprogressive
-
had been overcastingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overcast
Explanation
Use the adjective overcast when you're describing a cloudy sky. An overcast day can be dark, cold, and gloomy, or just quiet and calm. A day that's gray and cloudy is overcast, and a dull, sunless sky can also be described this way. A less common way to use overcast is when you talk about sewing — an overcast stitch catches the edge of the fabric to keep it from fraying — and the stitch itself is sometimes called an overcast. Before the weather-related adjective was coined, overcast was a verb meaning "to cover" or "to overthrow."
Vocabulary lists containing overcast
"Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achebe
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Lights Out: Synonyms for "Dark"
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4.1: Causes and Consequences of Iberian Maritime Exploration and Colonialism (Sources 1–12)
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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:
Skies are frequently overcast, and winters are cold, gray and gloomy.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Dean said clear skies would give the best view of the event but, if the weather was overcast, it would still "go dark, a little bit cold and the birds will go silent".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
It was a cool, overcast day and as the wind rustled the tree leaves, a baby coyote raced across the lawn in the distance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
On overcast days, when the sun was hidden, pigeons that lacked the macrophages lost their sense of direction and had difficulty navigating home.
From Science Daily ● May 31, 2026
By 5:00 A.M. the first hint of daylight glowed dimly in the east, and daybreak brought a chilly, misty, overcast day with snow squalls driving in ragged veils across the ice.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Three months earlier, Blankenship had told mine superintendents to "ignore" requests to build overcasts -- devices that are important for ventilating deadly gases from mines.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2010
Old flying boats venture out and up through pea-soup overcasts, often to rescue flyers from a sea so cold that few men have survived after floating in it for more than 30 minutes.
From Time Magazine Archive
When every drop of blood in the veins is pure a beauteous flush overcasts the young girl's cheek.
From Right Living as a Fine Art A Study of Channing's Symphony as an Outline of the Ideal Life and Character by Newell Dwight Hillis
Good Heavens, my dear, how deeply is your father still immersed in material things! how dense is his understanding, and what gloom overcasts his soul!
From The Pretentious Young Ladies by Molière
Suddenly it drives down before it a storm which overcasts the blue sky, so that it is pitch dark in the valley.
From Timar's Two Worlds by Mór Jókai
John Goodman can do the oaky solidity, but perhaps might be overcasting.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 29, 2012
The crosses being put in at the same time as the overcasting of the bars renders some forethought necessary to get each in at just the right time and place.
From Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving by Grace Christie
Heavy rain-clouds were overcasting the sky when we set out, and we had scarcely covered the eleven miles of unmade road that connects Batala with Gadian when the downpour commenced, and continued throughout the day.
From Among the Wild Tribes of the Afghan Frontier A Record of Sixteen Years' Close Intercourse with the Natives of the Indian Marches by T. L. (Theodore Leighton) Pennell
The object of the overcasting is to prevent raveling while working the buttonhole and the fewer stitches which will accomplish this purpose the better.
From Handicraft for Girls A Tentative Course in Needlework, Basketry, Designing, Paper and Cardboard Construction, Textile Fibers and Fabrics and Home Decoration and Care by Idabelle McGlauflin
That is a detail, if the borders themselves are intact; and the edges only need overcasting before it is too late.
From The Oriental Rug A Monograph on Eastern Rugs and Carpets, Saddle-Bags, Mats & Pillows, with a Consideration of Kinds and Classes, Types, Borders, Figures, Dyes, Symbols, etc. Together with Some Practical Advice to Collectors. by W. D. (William DeLancey) Ellwanger
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