overachieve

[oh-ver-uh-cheev]

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verb (used without object), o·ver·a·chieved, o·ver·a·chiev·ing.

to perform, especially academically, above the potential indicated by tests of one's mental ability or aptitude.

to perform better or achieve more than expected, especially by others.

Origin of overachieve

1950–55; over- + achieve, or by back formation from overachiever

Related formso·ver·a·chieve·ment, nouno·ver·a·chiev·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for overachiever

perfectionist, wunderkind, prodigy, genius, phenomenon, sycophant

Examples from the Web for overachiever

Contemporary Examples of overachiever

Annie (Alison Brie) was a perfectionist and overachiever who crashed and burned after an Adderall addiction.
‘Community’: Season 4 of the NBC Comedy Ponders the End
Jace Lacob
February 6, 2013
To say Paula Broadwell is an overachiever is an understatement.
Paula Broadwell: Is She Petraeus’s ‘Other Woman’?
Diane Dimond
November 10, 2012
It will be really, really fast Like that overachiever in your high school, Apple has to be the best at everything.
5 Things We Know About the New iPhone 5 (Maybe)
Nina Strochlic
August 28, 2012
An overachiever, you nonetheless demand familial support and validation.
Stars Predict Your Week
Starsky + Cox
October 2, 2011
Excerpted from Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever by Walter Kirn ©2009.
The Night I Joined the Upper Class
Walter Kirn
May 19, 2009

British Dictionary definitions for overachiever

overachieve

verb

(intr) to perform (for example, in examinations) better than would be expected on the basis of one's age or talents

Derived Formsoverachiever, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012