overblow

American  

[oh-ver-bloh] / ˌoʊ vərˈbloʊ /

verb (used with object)

overblew, overblown, overblowing

1. to give excessive importance or value to.

   to overblow one's own writing.

2. to overinflate.

3. to blow over the surface of, as the wind, sand, or the like.

   dead leaves overblowing the yard.

4. to blow (a wind instrument or an organ pipe) in such a way as to produce overtones.

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verb (used without object)

overblew, overblown, overblowing

1. to overblow a wind instrument.

overblow British  

/ ˌəʊvəˈbləʊ /

verb

1. music to blow into (a wind instrument) with greater force than normal in order to obtain a harmonic or overtone instead of the fundamental tone

2. to blow (a wind instrument) or (of a wind instrument) to be blown too hard

3. to blow over, away, or across

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Etymology

Origin of overblow

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at over-, blow ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

overblow overblew overblowing overblown

“There’s a performative aspect where employees overblow their usage of AI so that they appear relevant in the organization,” says Andrea Derler, principal researcher at Visier, which helps companies track and analyze employee work habits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

I’ve just always tried to be ethical and responsible and not overblow a situation or oversell a storm.

From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2022

But the overblow and waste has many analysts and public officials scratching their heads.

From Fox News ● May 1, 2020

“I just feel like I don’t like to overblow that stuff, so I’m going to downplay it,” Cousins said.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 30, 2015

Were Beeches boy well conveid awaie, Ide hope to overblow this stormie day.

From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 4 by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Bullen

The ship started very well, but the wind "overblew the tide"; she caught in the dock-gates, and settled hard upon the ground, so that there was no possibility of launching her that day.

From Men of Invention and Industry by Samuel Smiles

Mao was introduced to readers as the “Chairman of the Chinese Central Soviet Government”—vastly overblowing his true political status in China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

“It gets a little bit different as we get down to really the final two games, making sure that everybody’s understanding of the circumstances but we’re not overblowing any situation or any game.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 14, 2024

“It was, ‘Oh, this is media pollution, you’re overblowing this,’” she recalled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2020

"I think the attorney general's critics are overblowing what this is," Yoo said.

From Fox News ● Apr. 17, 2019

The Holztrompete is in the key of C; the scale is produced by overblowing, whereby the upper partials from the 2nd to the 6th are produced.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 5 "Hinduism" to "Home, Earls of" by Various

And while that last claim is somewhat breathless and overblown, the story told by Mr. Kerbaj teems with spies and spy catchers who could have slithered off the pages of John le Carré.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Also worth noting is Yann LeCun, who shared the Turing Award with Hinton and Bengio and has spent years dismissing their warnings of existential danger as overblown.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Others argue that the concerns themselves are overblown, noting that intelligence doesn’t always manifest as a will to dominate.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

Reported talk of sailors debating whether to jump off the ship is overblown, he contends, recalling jokes that were made during his time on an aircraft carrier.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Off to the side is the garden—a bit of an overblown name for it, since it’s mostly large, uneven rocks surrounded by pale-green shrubs, the color of eucalyptus.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed