overman
Americannoun
-
a foreman, supervisor, or overseer.
-
a superman.
verb (used with object)
verb
noun
-
a man who oversees others
-
the Nietzschean superman
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overmansimple
-
overmanssimple
-
have overmannedperfect
-
has overmannedperfect
-
am overmanningprogressive
-
are overmanningprogressive
-
is overmanningprogressive
-
have been overmanningperfect progressive
-
has been overmanningperfect progressive
Past
-
overmannedsimple
-
had overmannedperfect
-
was overmanningprogressive
-
were overmanningprogressive
-
had been overmanningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overman
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:
The overwhelming tendency was to deploy one at the back and one in midfield, a 3-5-2 that allowed a side to overman in the centre of its defensive and midfield thirds.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 21, 2017
The 36-year-old was an overman, the third in rank of the officers down the pit.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2016
Mr. Carlton, the viewer, looked vexed and annoyed; he was asking the overman to send to a mine a few miles off for their engineer.
From Charlie Scott or, There's Time Enough by Unknown
"Well said, wife!" answered the old overman, "and you shall see that I am not mistaken."
From The Underground City, or, the Child of the Cavern by Verne, Jules
Harry's lamp was not necessary here, but it would very soon be of use, for the old overman was about to conduct the engineer to the very end of the Dochart pit.
From The Underground City, or, the Child of the Cavern by Verne, Jules
Like any great short story, Scholz’s shows us the truth: Half-assed overmen rule the clever beasts.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2023
“I must be shaken by my adventure,” he said to himself laughing; and he considered for a moment or two whether he should go back and get one of the overmen for a companion.
From Son Philip by Anonymous
Then the overmen of the different pits came forward to shake hands with him, whilst the miners waved their caps, shouting, "Farewell, James Starr, our master and our friend!"
From The Underground City, or, the Child of the Cavern by Verne, Jules
Their kings and their tyrants alike were just men set in front of other men or usurping a leadership; they were not quasi-divine overmen like Pharaoh or Minos or the monarchs of Mesopotamia.
From A Short History of the World by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Heartrending were the wailings and shrieks and moanings which arose at this announcement, confirmed by the viewer and overmen.
From The Mines and its Wonders by Kingston, William Henry Giles
“We’re not playing great all the time, we’re a little overmanned at times.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 18, 2022
As soon as I saw Google, I lost the will to read because I was so overmanned.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2016
Poor countries also benefit from moving workers out of overmanned farms and into factories, where they are many times more productive.
From Economist ● Feb. 14, 2013
In contrast, Sport England has for 25 years been overmanned and unfocused.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 30, 2010
The boat was overmanned, and old Jacobs, the coxswain, had to order several of them to go ashore again.
From Saved by the Lifeboat by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)
Organized labor, in turn, will have to be more flexible on wages and be willing to give up rigid work rules that lead to overmanning and inefficiency.
From Time Magazine Archive
The rescue plan, however, does not call for cutting back employment, though overmanning is one of Leyland's chief handicaps.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
