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Showing results for overdose. Search instead for overdosing.
Synonyms

overdose

American  
[oh-ver-dohs, oh-ver-dohs, oh-ver-dohs] / ˈoʊ vərˌdoʊs, ˈoʊ vərˌdoʊs, ˌoʊ vərˈdoʊs /

noun

overdoses plural
  1. OD.


overdose British  

noun

  1. (esp of drugs) an excessive dose

"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

verb

  1. to take an excessive dose or give an excessive dose to

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of overdose

First recorded in 1680–90; over- + dose

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:

Gen. Rob Bonta accused the Sheriff’s Department of failing to screen jail staff for contraband and offering inadequate training to prevent overdose deaths.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 19, 2026

Or they didn’t think that the city should be burning tens of millions of dollars to send fire trucks “to every overdose, every sprained ankle, every toothache,” as Mr. Pratt has said.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 7, 2026

But investigations found he had been accidentally poisoned with an overdose of vitamin D that had been prescribed for growing pains.

From BBC Apr. 16, 2026

Heard says interest in using fomepizole for acetaminophen overdose dates back to the 1990s, when he was training in medical toxicology.

From Science Daily Jan. 18, 2026

As if this account didn’t already suffer from an overdose of amoral individuals.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

He also took steps to prevent fentanyl overdoses and reduce absenteeism.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 22, 2026

After three years, participants taking GLP-1 drugs experienced a 30% reduction in emergency department visits, a 25% reduction in hospitalizations, a 40% reduction in overdoses, and a 50% reduction in drug-related deaths.

From Science Daily Jun. 3, 2026

Lo, life expectancy in the U.S. hit a record in 2024 as death rates for heart disease, cancer, Covid and drug overdoses fell.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 2, 2026

In 2024, the number of fatal overdoses across the US fell by around 25%.

From BBC Oct. 17, 2025

The medical personnel were trained to handle drug overdoses and minor injuries, and knew very little about cerebral palsy.

From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar

A spokeswoman for the public defender’s office, which represented the two other teens who overdosed that day, said she could not comment on how their clients got sick.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 30, 2026

A lot of the pieces of the county’s transformation, including aggressive outreach to people who had overdosed, were in place nearly four years ago, when an overdose put Johnson at the edge of death.

From Seattle Times Nov. 2, 2023

In his quest for visibility he’ll hashtag as many words as possible, which makes his posts look like corporate disclaimer agreements that overdosed on Adderall: “#fearthebeard #tactical #tacticalgear #beastmode #multicam #hueys #fearthebeard #ally #selfie …”

From Washington Post Mar. 4, 2019

Independent Russian news website Meduza reported Thursday that Verzilov’s doctors told his relatives he either overdosed on medicine or was given too much medicine.

From Washington Times Sep. 14, 2018

It is difficult otherwise to understand how he could have stumbled at Maecenas's table on a dish so overdosed with garlic as that which provoked this humorous protest.

From Horace by Martin, Theodore

"In the future, there will come a time when we will provide multi-supplements tailored to each individual. There will be no need to worry about overdosing," concludes Prof. Fukui.

From Science Daily Apr. 2, 2024

Fire Department paramedics arrived, Morales told them the man was not overdosing.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 6, 2023

For heaven's sake, the spaghetti was too salty — I was overdosing the pasta water.

From Salon Jan. 20, 2022

Whatever our concerns might be about overdosing on screen time, the truth is that people keep buying larger and larger-screen phones.

From Washington Post Sep. 24, 2019

I should be afraid of your not thoroughly understanding my constitution, Tom, and overdosing me.

From Mad A Story of Dust and Ashes by Fenn, George Manville

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