overall

[adverb oh-ver-awl; adjective, noun oh-ver-awl]

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adverb, adjective

from one extreme limit of a thing to the other: the overall length of the bridge.

covering or including everything: an overall impression; to view something overall.

noun

overalls, (used with a plural verb)

loose, sturdy trousers, usually with a bib or biblike piece to which shoulder straps are attached, originally worn over other trousers to protect them, as by factory workers or farmers.
long waterproof leggings.

British. a smock or loose-fitting housedress.

Origin of overall

before 1000; Middle English overal (adv.), Old English ofer eall; see over, all

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

Related Words for overall

comprehensive, global, long-term, sweeping, blanket, total, umbrella, inclusive, thorough, all-embracing, long-range, chiefly, everywhere, largely, mainly, mostly, primarily, principally, throughout, everyplace

Examples from the Web for overall

Contemporary Examples of overall

According to James, by 2014 his business did close to $2 million in overall sales.
Career-Minded Women Turn to Male Escorts For No-Strings Fun and (Maybe) Sex
Aurora Snow
January 3, 2015
Are you more pessimistic about the overall public education crisis given this current environment?
Dr. Howard Fuller's Injustice Education
Campbell Brown
December 21, 2014
Overall, Paris Magnum reaches both too widely and too thinly in trying to convey a sense of spectrum.
A History of Paris in 150 Photographs
Sarah Moroz
December 14, 2014
But overall the legal system has done little to say “this was against the law.”
The U.S. Will Torture Again—and We’re All to Blame
Michael Tomasky
December 12, 2014
The differences in overall victimization are driven mainly by the incidences of completed rape.
College Girls Are Less Likely to Be Raped Than Non-Students
Brandy Zadrozny
December 11, 2014

Historical Examples of overall

Another score for his doubts about the overall value of truth!
The Valor of Cappen Varra
Poul William Anderson
The last station seemed to be some kind of overall control for the rest.
The Status Civilization
Robert Sheckley
Your squadron is to be deployed as scouts under my overall command.
Mercenary
Dallas McCord Reynolds
There's my brown Holland overall, and Hudson could brush my hair, and make it tidy.
The Children of Wilton Chase
Mrs. L. T. Meade
I have no recommendations for an overall solution, or even a regional one.
This Crowded Earth
Robert Bloch

British Dictionary definitions for overall

overall

adjective (ˈəʊvərˌɔːl) (prenominal)

from one end to the other

including or covering everythingthe overall cost

adverb (ˌəʊvərˈɔːl)

in general; on the whole

noun (ˈəʊvərˌɔːl)

British a protective work garment usually worn over ordinary clothes

(plural) hard-wearing work trousers with a bib and shoulder straps or jacket attached

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

Word Origin and History for overall

adv.

"everywhere," Old English ofer eall, from ofer "over" (see over) + eall (see all). Sense of "including everything" is from 1894. The noun in the clothing sense (usually plural) of "loose trousers of a strong material worn by cowboys, etc." is from 1782. Specific sense "loose fitting canvas trousers with a bib and strap top" (originally worn by workmen over other clothes to protect them from wet, dirt, etc.) is attested from 1897.