overboard
Americanadverb
idioms
adverb
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from on board a vessel into the water
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informal
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to be extremely enthusiastic
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to go to extremes
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to reject or abandon
Etymology
Origin of overboard
before 1000; Middle English over bord, Old English ofer bord. See over, board
Explanation
You can only fall overboard if you're on a boat. If you fall overboard, don't forget your life vest! The adverb overboard most often comes up when someone falls in the water. When it's used literally, it very specifically refers to the movement of a person or an object from a boat into the ocean or other body of water. Figuratively, to go overboard means to take something too far — you're going overboard on your diet if you refuse to eat anything that isn't green.
Vocabulary lists containing overboard
Inside Out & Back Again
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Bud, Not Buddy
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for November 26–December 2, 2022
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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.
I love tuna salad and have definitely gone overboard with how often I eat it every week.
From Salon • May 24, 2026
Jones was 18 and working as a Merchant Navy chef when he went overboard on the Northern Star cruise liner in the English Channel in 1975.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt brought their A game, embracing method dressing without going overboard.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
Investors can hang loose for now, but probably shouldn’t go overboard.
From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026
Or perhaps creatures of the deep dragged them overboard.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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.
