overbuy
Americanverb (used with object)
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to purchase in excessive quantities.
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Finance. to buy on margin in excess of one's ability to provide added security in an emergency, as in a falling market.
verb (used without object)
Etymology
Origin of overbuy
First recorded in 1400–50, overbuy is from the late Middle English word overbiggen. See over-, buy
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:
Demand from that market was a major growth driver for chip-equipment makers in recent years, but investors have been worried about U.S. export controls prompting companies in China to overbuy and stockpile unnecessary tools.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 3, 2026
The two things I overbuy the most are vintage jackets and notebooks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2025
“Before, I would overbuy; I realized I don’t need all of that,” said Ms. Park, who works as a part-time aesthetician and content creator.
From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
I’m a fool for good anchovies, which I tend to overbuy.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2023
They can outsail us and keep ahead of us; and they’ll undersell and overbuy us wherever we go.
From Billy Topsail & Company A Story for Boys by Norman Duncan
“As we’ve said before, overbought isn’t a reason to sell,” they say.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Futures are in an overbought condition, “with a corrective phase due,” he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The index went from being oversold and trading below the lower Bollinger Band to being overbought and trading above the upper Bollinger Band.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Sandisk stock’s current 14-day RSI would indicate that it is not overbought.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
But that one of us twain who was singly concerned in encajes had fatigued and perhaps overbought herself at the antiquity shop, and she signified a regret which they divined too well was dissent.
From Familiar Spanish Travels by William Dean Howells
It’s also helpful to include quantities on your shopping list to prevent overbuying any one ingredient.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024
She stays with us for a few months every year, visiting from overseas so cue the overbuying of food, gifts, etc.
From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2022
But it’s also because some retailers have made online returns so painless that consumers see overbuying as a perfectly acceptable way of sampling products.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 10, 2022
“You put the protective allocation in place to prevent folks from hoarding and overbuying, therefore exacerbating the shortage situation.”
From Washington Times ● Feb. 16, 2021
Keeping to the available space will help you avoid overbuying and waste.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 14, 2020
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
