overlay

¹ American  

[oh-ver-ley, oh-ver-ley] / ˌoʊ vərˈleɪ, ˈoʊ vərˌleɪ /

verb (used with object)

overlaid, overlaying

1. to lay or place (one thing) over or upon another.

2. to cover, overspread, or surmount with something.

3. to finish with a layer or applied decoration of something.

   wood richly overlaid with gold.

4. Printing. to put an overlay upon.

---

noun

1. something laid over something else; covering.

2. a layer or decoration of something applied.

   an overlay of gold.

3. Printing.

   1. a shaped piece of paper, or a sheet of paper reinforced at the proper places by shaped pieces, put on the tympan of a press to increase or equalize the impression.

   2. a method of preparing copy for multicolor printing, in which matter for each color is prepared on a transparent sheet that is placed over a key plate, usually the one to be printed in black.

   3. the sheet or sheets so prepared.

4. a sheet of transparent paper placed over a photograph, a dummy, or other artwork for noting corrections, instructions, mechanical separations, etc.

5. Computers. software or data in external storage and brought into main storage for execution by replacing or augmenting software or data already there.

6. a transparent sheet giving special military information not ordinarily shown on maps, used by being placed over the map on which it is based.

7. a decorative piece of leather or other material stitched on a shoe.

8. Scot. a cravat.

overlay ² American  

[oh-ver-ley] / ˌoʊ vərˈleɪ /

verb

1. simple past tense of overlie.

---

overlay British  

verb

1. to lay or place something over or upon (something else)

2. (often foll by with) to cover, overspread, or conceal (with)

3. (foll by with) to cover (a surface) with an applied decoration

   ebony overlaid with silver

4. to achieve the correct printing pressure all over (a forme or plate) by adding to the appropriate areas of the packing

---

noun

1. something that is laid over something else; covering

2. an applied decoration or layer, as of gold leaf

3. a transparent sheet giving extra details to a map or diagram over which it is designed to be placed

4. printing material, such as paper, used to overlay a forme or plate

Etymology

Origin of overlay

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at over-, lay ¹

Explanation

To overlay is to cover with a coating or a layer, or to set one thing on top of another. A winter storm will sometimes overlay a dangerously slick coating of ice on top of the road. An artist might overlay a ceramic object with gold, or overlay one piece of paper on another in a collage. The layer itself, whether it's clear plastic or cement or silver, is also called an overlay. Another kind of overlay, dating from the 1930s, is the transparent sheet of paper in a book that covers a map or other full-page illustration.

Example Sentences

Overlay these two data points, and a concerning picture emerges.

From Washington Post • Feb. 10, 2023

Overlay artist Athena Kipen, however, is much more strategic with how she chooses what cards to make art for.

From The Verge • Jul. 1, 2022

Overlay of different historical reconstructions of average temperatures over the last two thousand years.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

Or it’s 1941 in a brown suit, or ’53 in its white shoes, Overlay after overlay tumbled and brought back, As meaningless as the sea would be  if the sea could remember its waves .

From The New Yorker • Nov. 4, 2019

Overlay human nature as you please, here and there some bit of rock, or mound of aboriginal soil, will crop out with the wild-flowers growing upon it, sweetening the air.

From Dreamthorp A Book of Essays Written in the Country by Smith, Alexander

Related Words

• superimpose