overburden
Americanverb (used with object)
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overburdens,
present (3rd person singular)
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overburdened,
past participle, past
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overburdening
present participle
noun
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an excessive burden.
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Also called burden, capping. Mining. waste earth and rock covering a mineral deposit.
verb
noun
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an excessive burden or load
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geology the sedimentary rock material that covers coal seams, mineral veins, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overburdensimple
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overburdenssimple
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have overburdenedperfect
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has overburdenedperfect
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am overburdeningprogressive
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are overburdeningprogressive
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is overburdeningprogressive
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have been overburdeningperfect progressive
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has been overburdeningperfect progressive
Past
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overburdenedsimple
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had overburdenedperfect
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was overburdeningprogressive
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were overburdeningprogressive
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had been overburdeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overburden
Explanation
When you give someone too much to carry, you overburden them. Don't overburden yourself with too much gear in your hiking backpack, or you'll never make it up the mountain! You can literally overburden someone, which you do whenever you ask them to hold too much weight: "Let me carry some of those books. I don't want you to overburden yourself" There's also a figurative way to overburden another person, by pressuring them or making them work too hard: "If the budget cuts go through and school aides are laid off, it will overburden teachers."
Vocabulary lists containing overburden
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:
In the end, some 125 took the offer, threatening to overburden a corps already struggling to inspect even a sliver of the nation’s 130,000 licensed firearms dealers.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
Override foes said a hefty property tax jump would overburden residents, particularly seniors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
The tips - known as overburden mounds - contain 37 million cubic metres of material removed while the opencast mine was operating.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025
Even so, to overburden a few food metaphors, there are a lot of flavors at play in Healy’s poignant, surreal family drama.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 6, 2023
I helped my parents carry their tools, and they walked ahead so straight, each carrying a basket or a hoe not to overburden me, their tears falling privately.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
He occasionally overburdens the reader with minutiae of political and organizational rivalries and is more workman than stylist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
This simultaneously overburdens and disempowers the lower courts.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2025
That means tools such as vaccines will be prioritized; but in countries where dengue is endemic, the rainy season completely overburdens their health systems and what they desperately need are treatments, said Crockett.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 4, 2023
Laura Cantrell is an emphatic single-syllable rhymer, a classic-minded country singer who never overburdens a song: Her last album was a collection of Kitty Wells covers, and that’s about as contemporary as her tastes run.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2014
Though Strauss treats his voices with more consideration in "Der Rosenkavalier" than in his tragedies, he still so overburdens them that the words are distinguishable only at intervals.
From A Second Book of Operas by Henry Edward Krehbiel
The industry went through a difficult time in the 2010s because of overburdened balance sheets, and now many companies are staying lean to be flexible for the future.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
State courts, which handle about 97% of all cases in the country, are particularly overburdened and have fewer resources.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
But Ms Dabula says the public health system, which caters for almost 85% of the population, is overburdened.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025
Drug companies launched these discount sites for uninsured patients years ago, hoping to foster the impression that they cared about patients overburdened by their list prices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
Faint to my ears came the gathered rumour of all lands: the springing and the dying, the song and the weeping, and the slow everlasting groan of overburdened stone.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
While the higher price may reduce sales, she says she is considering making small adjustments, cutting costs, improving efficiency and exploring alternative markets to stay competitive without overburdening her customers.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025
As an advocate for better food in schools and hospitals, she sees her love of “cheats” as a tool to help institutions create better meals without overburdening their staff.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2024
The coalition warned, however, that doing so could “further marginalize high-risk populations and divert resources from struggling facilities while simultaneously overburdening higher-level facilities.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2024
He said $1.35 billion comes close to the city’s need while not overburdening people on fixed incomes.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2024
He completed his ruling by instituting the "Zakat-ul-Mal," the bestowal of property in alms, intended to safeguard the existence of pauper Mussulmans without overburdening rich folks.
From The Life of Mohammad The Prophet of Allah by Etienne Dinet
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.
