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.
One sailor who reportedly jumped overboard is only 19 — practically still a kid.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
A U.S. official confirmed that a person went overboard the Lincoln in early August but was quickly rescued.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
He said he jumped overboard with an elderly man as the fire came closer, and saw flames engulfing "almost all" of the ferry as he looked back.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
After my story ran, Davis emailed me and said he’d enjoyed the piece, which had a couple of lines about Davis’ tendency to go overboard hyping his projects.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Even many of the Tories were talking like that, for the punishment fell equally heavily upon the King’s most loyal subjects in Boston and on the very ‘Indians’ who had tossed the tea overboard.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
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.
