double-book
Americanverb (used with object)
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to overbook by accepting more than one reservation for the same hotel room, airplane seat, etc.
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to make reservations for (more than one hotel accommodation, seat on a plane, etc.) so as to be certain of obtaining at least one of them.
verb (used without object)
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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double-booksimple
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double-bookssimple
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have double-bookedperfect
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has double-bookedperfect
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am double-bookingprogressive
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are double-bookingprogressive
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is double-bookingprogressive
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have been double-bookingperfect progressive
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has been double-bookingperfect progressive
Past
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double-bookedsimple
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had double-bookedperfect
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was double-bookingprogressive
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were double-bookingprogressive
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had been double-bookingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of double-book
First recorded in 1965–70
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:
"There is school work, appointments, shopping… all constantly demanding our attention. We used to double-book ourselves, waiting to get back home to look at a calendar, or shopping list on the fridge."
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2022
It’d add a fun little frisson to the Olympic 3x3 matches if the IOC were to deliberately double-book the 3x3 games with, say, badminton.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2021
Facing holiday flight delays on a return trip from Europe, parents double-book incompatible babysitters to look after their two kids and dog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2020
He said he’ll only be able to use every other chair and isn’t allowed to double-book appointments.
From Washington Times ● May 27, 2020
Officials at the authority defended its decision to double-book the hearings, noting that a small group of protesters usually testify several different times, often in regions where they do not live.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2010
She plans a ski getaway with her best friend, but the resort mistakenly double-books them with two eligible men, including Ben, an entrepreneur.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2019
It's Friday night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and he's in the middle of rehearsals for Gorillaz' first ever stadium show - a multicultural, multimedia pop extravaganza, with more guests than a double-booked Airbnb.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Patients who are deemed unlikely to show up for a visit are more likely to be double-booked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
It means that State Farm Arena is double-booked for Thursday night.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
The problem is, the seabed's double-booked, and something has to give.
From Reuters ● Jan. 24, 2023
I thought of a double-booked Airbnb and a woman cohabiting there or sleeping in her car.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2022
According to county correspondence, Spellberg also began hearing from a USC-employed physician who was “not comfortable” with the double-booking practices and would not sign documents attesting to work supposedly done by USC doctors.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2022
The Capitanes are an important part of the N.B.A.’s push into Mexico, but the double-booking was not a problem for them.
From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2021
Critics of the practice, who include some surgeons and patient safety advocates, say that double-booking adds unnecessary risk, erodes trust and primarily enriches specialists.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 10, 2017
Sometimes, we end up double-booking anyway, because life’s like that, but it helps get that out in front instead of dealing with it after small children build up expectations or you have put down deposits.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2015
She had a double-booking - and opted to attend the inauguration of the new Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych.
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2010
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.
