overbook
Americanverb (used with object)
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overbooks,
present (3rd person singular)
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overbooked,
past participle, past
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overbooking
present participle
verb (used without object)
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overbooks,
present (3rd person singular)
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overbooked,
past participle, past
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overbooking
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overbooksimple
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overbookssimple
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have overbookedperfect
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has overbookedperfect
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am overbookingprogressive
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are overbookingprogressive
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is overbookingprogressive
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have been overbookingperfect progressive
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has been overbookingperfect progressive
Past
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overbookedsimple
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had overbookedperfect
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was overbookingprogressive
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were overbookingprogressive
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had been overbookingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overbook
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:
Cursory research shows that medical providers of all kinds routinely overbook patient appointments to make up for lost revenue from no-shows and late arrivals.
From MarketWatch ● May 1, 2026
Indiana Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said last week that the wait for an appointment could be extended from three weeks to six weeks or more to ensure the system does not overbook.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 29, 2021
“In the current climate, hotels will overbook by 10 to 15 percent of their room capacity, which will result in more guests being walked,” Dr. Pandit said.
From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2019
"Does that mean we should overbook flights and start charging for everything? We don't think so."
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2018
Furthermore, Boeing and Airbus typically overbook their delivery slots to ensure they always have a buyer for planes if another customer cancels or defers an order.
From Reuters ● May 22, 2012
The same way an airline overbooks tickets for a flight, if all the passengers show up, the airline must compensate the ones who are bumped from the plane.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2023
The company also overbooks technicians, leading to late and missed appointments, and relies heavily on contract labor, where quality control can be difficult.
From The Verge ● Aug. 19, 2014
For instance, the line commonly overbooks, and sometimes on domestic flights extra passengers squeeze aboard as standees.
From Time Magazine Archive
A hotel receptionist said rooms that were overbooked just a few weeks ago now stood empty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
But cruise experts say such offers are typically connected to an overbooked sailing.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 19, 2026
"You could turn up ready to pay for your hotel on arrival and the hotel had a better offer and became overbooked."
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2025
Contractors found themselves in high demand and overbooked, and the one the couple hired abandoned the project halfway through.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
"Sir, it seems that the flight has been accidentally overbooked, by about 300 people."
From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Winn Schwartau
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, said it has already canceled some hotel reservations after overbooking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 6, 2026
Of course, you can also look at an overbooking situation as a positive — if you’re hoping to score an offer and don’t mind changing your travel plans.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 19, 2026
To address this uncertainty, the researchers propose the use of "overbooking" to allow them to increase the tile size, as well as a way to tolerate it if the tile doesn't fit the buffer.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2023
What’s more, airlines practice their own form of deception by overbooking their flights and hoping some passengers don’t show up.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 26, 2023
Even one of the people responsible for overbooking the calendar agrees it’s now too crowded.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
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.
