overbite

American

[oh-ver-bahyt] / ˈoʊ vərˌbaɪt /

noun

Dentistry.

occlusion in which the upper incisor teeth overlap the lower ones.

overbite British

/ ˈəʊvəˌbaɪt /

noun

Also called: vertical overlap. dentistry an extension of the upper front teeth over the lower front teeth when the mouth is closed

"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

Etymology

Origin of overbite

First recorded in 1885–90; over- + bite

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:

overbite

Specialists at a Liverpool university have now used photographs, dental records and CT scans of the man's skull to reveal he had "striking facial features", including an overbite.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026

The estuary already has a long list of non-native species, including bass, water hyacinth, Asian clams and overbite clams.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024

Richards Spur contains many fossils of Captorhinus aguti—an iguana-size, lizardlike reptile with a pronounced overbite that Mooney describes as “cute, even chunky.”

From Science Magazine ● Jan. 11, 2024

Could anything be done about his overbite, he asked?

From Washington Post ● Aug. 19, 2022

Mom told me my overbite gave my face character.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023