Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

go overboard

Idioms  

  1. Show excessive enthusiasm, act in an excessive way. For example, It's easy to go overboard with a new stock offering, or She really went overboard, hiring the most expensive caterer. [Mid-1900s]

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.

Presentation does matter to a degree, but there’s no need to go overboard.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2025

“We go overboard because we haven’t learned how to temperate our appetite for memory.”

From Slate • Nov. 13, 2024

In children with autism, it seems to go overboard, and this can be measured with a simple eye-tracking device.

From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2024

Don’t go overboard, though: Too much caffeine can make people feel anxious and jittery and can increase heart rate — all of which you may already be experiencing because of lack of sleep.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 20, 2023

My mom had protocols to go overboard with the Stray Cats but also be very subtle in our generosity.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

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.