override

American  

[oh-ver-rahyd, oh-ver-rahyd] / ˌoʊ vərˈraɪd, ˈoʊ vərˌraɪd /

verb (used with object)

• overrides,
  present (3rd person singular)
• overrode,
  past
• overridden,
  past participle
• overriding
  present participle

1. to prevail or have dominance over; have final authority or say over; overrule.

   to override one's advisers.

2. to disregard, set aside, or nullify; countermand.

   to override the board's veto.

3. to take precedence over; preempt or supersede.

   to override any other considerations.

4. to extend beyond or spread over; overlap.

5. to modify or suspend the ordinary functioning of; alter the normal operation of.

6. to ride over or across.

7. to ride past or beyond.

8. to trample or crush; ride down.

9. to ride (a horse) too much.

10. Fox Hunting. to ride too closely behind (the hounds).

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noun

• overrides
  plural

1. a commission on sales or profits, especially one paid at the executive or managerial level.

2. budgetary or expense increase; exceeding of an estimate.

   work stoppage because of cost overrides.

3. an ability or allowance to correct, change, supplement, or suspend the operation of an otherwise automatic mechanism, system, etc.

4. an auxiliary device for such modification, as a special manual control.

5. an act of nullifying, canceling, or setting aside.

   a congressional override of the president's veto.

6. Radio and Television Slang. something that is a dominant or major facet of a program or series, especially something that serves as a unifying theme.

   an entertainment series with a historical override.

override British  

/ ˌəʊvəˈraɪd /

verb

1. to set aside or disregard with superior authority or power

2. to supersede or annul

3. to dominate or vanquish by or as if by trampling down

4. to take manual control of (a system that is usually under automatic control)

5. to extend or pass over, esp to overlap

6. to ride (a horse) too hard

7. to ride over or across

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noun

1. a device or system that can override an automatic control

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• overrides
  plural

Participles

• overriding
  present
• overridden
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• override
  simple
• overrides
  simple
• have overridden
  perfect
• has overridden
  perfect
• am overriding
  progressive
• are overriding
  progressive
• is overriding
  progressive
• have been overriding
  perfect progressive
• has been overriding
  perfect progressive

Past

• overrode
  simple
• had overridden
  perfect
• was overriding
  progressive
• were overriding
  progressive
• had been overriding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will override
  simple
• will have overridden
  perfect
• will be overriding
  progressive
• will have been overriding
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of override

before 900; Middle English overriden to ride over or across, Old English oferrīdan. See over-, ride

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Explanation

You can override or reject a decision if you're more powerful than the person who originally made the decision. And Congress has the power to override or nullify the Presidential veto if they have a two-thirds vote. The word override can be used in a number of contexts. You can override or ride on top of the grass. You can override a horse, or ride it too hard. An army can override or dominate the enemy in a war. And a judge can override or set aside a decision in court. Regardless of which meaning you're using, remember that the thing doing the overriding always has the upper hand.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

override overrides overrode overridden overriding

Usually, federal laws are deemed to be the “supreme law” and override state laws that are in conflict.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

For younger motorists, the first move when getting behind the wheel is to override the in-car infotainment system, including the radio, by activating Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026

Other details are murkier, including when and how Anthropic shareholders might be able to override the trust.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

If, as the account owner, you had a will leaving assets to a third party, it would not override a valid beneficiary designation.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

“Dojjiou know how to override the system manually?”

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

But according to the research of professor Richard Hasen, the rate of congressional overrides has steadily decreased over the years as Congress becomes slower and less productive with each passing term.

From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026

He pointed to a recent landmark bill, State Senate Bill 79, which overrides local zoning laws to allow for taller, denser buildings near major transit stops.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026

The joy of connection, however, overrides these considerations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

As this is a contract between two people, it generally overrides a will.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 3, 2026

On one wall, flashers and safety overrides blinked to indicate that there were electric malfunctions and topside failures, probably from having the conning deck go under.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

That emotion overrode thinking about the message she was sending in its entirety to the recipient of that money.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

On the same night it approved the contracts, the board overrode its own chief financial officer to pull $175 million from a fund set aside for retiree health benefits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

One study found that Congress used to overturn several opinions practically every term, including a particularly effective 1991 Congress that overrode eight Supreme Court decisions.

From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026

Last year, researchers at the UK's AI Security Institute found jailbreaks that overrode safeguards across a range of harmful requests in every AI system it tested.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

He wanted to complete what he had begun, but he overrode the brutal imperative of the hunter in him.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

But it was a few, not a majority, and their fears were overridden by an originally concerned J. Robert Oppenheimer, the project’s director, after consulting with other scientists and reviewing their calculations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Cutler said this has a lower likelihood of being overridden by courts, noting Trump's top trade official Jamieson Greer had carefully navigated procedural requirements before imposing duties.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s vice president of AI software, said on X that the driver had manually overridden the system by “by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100%.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

"Over a dozen Reform branches have contacted me, stating that they have been replaced, overridden, and disrespected by Zia Yusuf's headquarters team," he added.

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2025

Only Florida and Alabama allowed the jury's decision to be overridden by a judge—and Florida later put restrictions on the practice that severely curtailed it.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

"The overriding focus of the UK government and devolved administrations was on protecting hospitals."

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

"They have implemented AI... which is not tested," Ahamed said, arguing that the technology risks overriding the judgement of local officials familiar with voters and communities.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

But as soon as the cast is set in motion, the overriding impression is that of a manifesto springing into a college vaudeville.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

It is impossible, in the 21st century, to identify a single overriding interest or value that ought alone to govern social life, whether freedom, virtue, equality or efficiency.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

For the first hours in the cage, Zeitoun’s overriding goal was to be granted a phone call.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

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Related Words

• abrogate
• annul
• nullify
• quash
• reverse
• revoke
• veto

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