oversubscribe

American  

[oh-ver-suhb-skrahyb] / ˌoʊ vər səbˈskraɪb /

verb (used with object)

oversubscribed, oversubscribing

1. to subscribe for more of than is available, expected, or required.

   The charity drive was oversubscribed by several thousand dollars.

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oversubscribe British  

/ ˌəʊvəsəbˈskraɪb /

verb

1. (tr; often passive) to subscribe or apply for in excess of available supply

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Other Word Forms

• oversubscriber
  noun
• oversubscription
  noun

Etymology

Origin of oversubscribe

First recorded in 1890–95; over- + subscribe

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oversubscribe oversubscribed oversubscribing

The Breeders Cup Juvenile did not oversubscribe and Anneau D’Or is in the field.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2019

On this date in 1917, Pima County became the first county in the nation to oversubscribe its Liberty Bond allotment.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 10, 2018

“Every year, in a matter of hours, we oversubscribe beyond the entire 85,000 slots plus,” Issa said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2016

To their astonishment, British investors rushed in to oversubscribe the issue 60 times, thereby forcing a drawing to see who would actually get the coveted shares.

From Time Magazine Archive

Equity capital flowed in for the asking as eager Australian investors flocked to oversubscribe new stock issues.

From Time Magazine Archive

Chief Facilities Executive Krisztina Tokes could offer no such assurance, advising the board that state earthquake mitigation funds are underfunded and oversubscribed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Some 200 qualifiers from last year's Easdale event and others around the world will compete along with 200 challengers, selected by ballot because the contest is so oversubscribed.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

That was the size of the new listing on July 10 and given the issue was multiple times oversubscribed, international demand was not satisfied fully.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Bovard said he couldn’t let Akil audit the oversubscribed course.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Kamen told Lawrence that he and Ruben would have been happy to continue their search, but the oversubscribed cyclotron was unavailable for the lengthy bombardments the program required.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

What they think of this plan sturdy Belgians showed last week by oversubscribing a one-billion-franc internal loan offered by the Government to the public at 5%.

From Time Magazine Archive

They were asked in addition to buy government bonds to a total of fourteen billions, and they responded by oversubscribing this amount by nearly five billions.

From Woodrow Wilson and the World War A Chronicle of Our Own Times. by Charles Seymour