overlap

American  

[oh-ver-lap, oh-ver-lap] / ˌoʊ vərˈlæp, ˈoʊ vərˌlæp /

verb (used with object)

• overlaps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• overlapped,
  past participle,  past
• overlapping
  present participle

1. to lap over (something else or each other); extend over and cover a part of; imbricate.

2. to cover and extend beyond (something else).

   The ends of cloth overlap the table.

3. to coincide in part with; have in common with.

   two lives that overlapped each other.

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verb (used without object)

• overlaps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• overlapped,
  past participle,  past
• overlapping
  present participle

1. to lap over.

   two sales territories that overlap; fields of knowledge that overlap.

noun

• overlaps
  plural

1. an act or instance of overlapping.

2. the extent or amount of overlapping.

   The second story of the building has an overlap of ten feet.

3. an overlapping part.

4. the place of overlapping.

5. (in yacht racing) the position of two yachts side by side such that the overtaking boat, to pass the other on the opposite side, must fall back, or such that neither can turn toward the other without danger of collision.

overlap British  

verb

1. (of two things) to extend or lie partly over (each other)

2. to cover and extend beyond (something)

3. (intr) to coincide partly in time, subject, etc

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noun

1. a part that overlaps or is overlapped

2. the amount, length, etc, overlapping

3. the act or fact of overlapping

4. a place of overlapping

5. geology the horizontal extension of the upper beds in a series of rock strata beyond the lower beds, usually caused by submergence of the land

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonoverlapping
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• overlaps
  plural

Participles

• overlapping
  present
• overlapped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• overlap
  simple
• overlaps
  simple
• have overlapped
  perfect
• has overlapped
  perfect
• am overlapping
  progressive
• are overlapping
  progressive
• is overlapping
  progressive
• have been overlapping
  perfect progressive
• has been overlapping
  perfect progressive

Past

• overlapped
  simple
• had overlapped
  perfect
• was overlapping
  progressive
• were overlapping
  progressive
• had been overlapping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will overlap
  simple
• will have overlapped
  perfect
• will be overlapping
  progressive
• will have been overlapping
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of overlap

First recorded in 1685–95; over- + lap ²

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Explanation

When things overlap, part or all of one thing covers part or all of the other, like roofing shingles or flat noodles in a lasagna dish. Not only can things overlap, but schedules can, too. If you accidentally schedule your doctor's appointment and your dentist appointment at the same time, they overlap, which is unfortunate because you can't be in two places at once. Philosophies and perspectives overlap when they share certain points or ideas in common.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

overlap overlaps overlapped overlapping

These often measure text similarity or overlap, but they don’t heavily penalize the tiny errors that should fail in a health setting.

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026

Paralleling the pair’s different formations and aesthetic willfulness, the exhibition emphasizes points of overlap and rejection, sympathy and refusal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

While mergers typically lead to corporate overlap and redundancies, Bonta maintained that it would be a "job creator" that will put people back to work across the industry.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

They can overlap, of course, but these are to be avoided.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

They’re not the same, though the meanings do overlap.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Women showed their sharpest rise between ages 40 and 60, a period that broadly overlaps with the menopausal transition.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

They say elephants destroy crops and infrastructure and pose a danger to people, particularly as their range increasingly overlaps with farms and settlements.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Milwaukee’s festival calendar stretches well beyond these two, so if your visit overlaps with one, it’s worth checking the city’s full schedule before you arrive.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

There have been mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, overlaps, layoffs, and quote-unquote efficiencies all along the way.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

Then another circle overlaps my friends’ names, and I write Brooklyn Collective.

From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

The tertulias at Alemana became the space where artists, journalists, and drunks overlapped freely.

From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026

During Trump's first term, the US president and former Brazilian president Bolsonaro enjoyed a friendly relationship when their presidencies overlapped, and the two had met at the White House in 2019.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

That event stretched into the early morning hours and overlapped with frantic negotiations to reach a deal with Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

The team also examined whether the diets of more common fungi-eating mammals overlapped with the Gilbert's potoroo.

From Science Daily ● May 20, 2026

There was a Wonder Woman poster that stretched over his bed, which overlapped one of Selena.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

Establishing responsibility was also challenging because it required authorities to share maps pinpointing fire hotspots, with overlapping land claims further complicating matters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

The solar cells are cut into narrow strips, layered like overlapping shingles, and connected to each other using electrically conductive adhesive, rather than metal wires.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Lee and his colleagues realized that the wake from a single quark would be much easier to identify if there were no second quark creating an overlapping disturbance.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

It is important to realize the fluidity of the region now: These new conjunctions are flexible and overlapping.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

He threaded the needle—difficult, with the rocking of the boat—and began to sew the tear in tight, overlapping stitches.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

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