overdraw
Americanverb (used with object)
-
overdraws,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overdrew,
past
-
overdrawn,
past participle
-
overdrawing
present participle
-
to draw upon (an account, allowance, etc.) in excess of the balance standing to one's credit or at one's disposal.
It was the first time he had ever overdrawn his account.
-
to strain, as a bow, by drawing too far.
-
to exaggerate in portraying, describing, depicting, or drawing.
The author has overdrawn the villain to the point of absurdity.
verb (used without object)
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overdraws,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overdrew,
past
-
overdrawn,
past participle
-
overdrawing
present participle
-
to overdraw an account or the like.
It ruins one's credit to overdraw frequently at a bank.
-
(of a stove, fireplace, etc.) to draw excessively; have too strong an updraft.
When the flue overdraws, all the heat goes right up the chimney.
verb
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to draw on (a bank account) in excess of the credit balance
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(tr) to strain or pull (a bow) too far
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(tr) to exaggerate in describing or telling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overdrawsimple
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overdrawssimple
-
have overdrawnperfect
-
has overdrawnperfect
-
am overdrawingprogressive
-
are overdrawingprogressive
-
is overdrawingprogressive
-
have been overdrawingperfect progressive
-
has been overdrawingperfect progressive
Past
-
overdrewsimple
-
had overdrawnperfect
-
was overdrawingprogressive
-
were overdrawingprogressive
-
had been overdrawingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overdraw
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at over-, draw
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:
Workers cannot take out their full balance for a hardship withdrawal and they cannot overdraw, so there are some guardrails.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 12, 2026
If you overdraw your account for the first time, a call to your bank could get the charge removed.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
McCarthy attacked Boxer’s ethics and personal finances in connection with the House banking scandal, in which members of Congress were allowed to overdraw their accounts without penalty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2023
Starting next month, Bank of America will do away with fees for insufficient funds, such as when a check bounces, and will stop customers from being able to overdraw their accounts at A.T.M.s.
From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2022
“People overdraw their accounts all the time,” she said.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
But if the landfill overdraws these gases, these wells can introduce oxygen, which can speed up waste decomposition and produce heat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2024
As Wang explained, shifting in his seat and gesturing with his hands throughout, Alameda earned an “allow_negative” badge because it helped the firm sidestep the automatic procedures Wang implemented to prevent account overdraws and wipeouts.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2023
“We’re in a period of 23 years of sustained drought and overdraws on the system,” he said.
From New York Times ● Jan. 31, 2023
He even overdraws his bank account to stretch the money further.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 20, 2018
Here, manifestly, in setting down a speech which a gentleman only thought, a chronicler overdraws his account with the patient reader, who has a right not to accept this draft on his credulity.
From The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray
When I was in college, I never overdrew my bank account.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
But a few times, he overdrew his bank account.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 3, 2021
For some reason, the bank debited my account twice for the same payment, which meant it overdrew my account and I got slapped with an overdraft fee.
From Slate ● Jul. 16, 2020
At 11, Singh overdrew his approach and went into the pond.
From Golf Digest ● Mar. 22, 2020
True, he sometimes overdrew his account a trifle; but there was always his allowance coming the first of the month; and neither he nor the bank worried.
From The Road to Understanding by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter
Critics say the links between Karachi’s gangsters and Islamist terrorists are overdrawn, that the real Karachi is far less glamorous than its Bollywood incarnation, and that one character’s Punjabi accent isn’t quite right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Their trade group, the American Bankers Assn., asserted the rule will prompt banks to offer less overdraft protection, which prevents overdrawn checks from bouncing and debit-card transactions from being declined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2024
Ms Jones said she was £464 overdrawn as a result of being overcharged.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2024
There was no whimsy to this lifestyle, just overdrawn accounts and the creeping realization that I might live this way forever.
From Slate ● May 18, 2024
Dear Customer, We are returning this check to you because your account is overdrawn and the transaction cannot be honored.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
Despite uncertainty over the exact figure, experts agree that overdrawing oil from the salt caverns it is stored in would damage the caverns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
Proponents of the apps say they help people living paycheck to paycheck manage their finances and avoid the need for more onerous options, such as payday loans or overdrawing a bank account.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
Legislation passed in 2014 requires water districts to stop overdrawing their aquifers by the 2040s.
From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2023
He said the widespread depletion of groundwater is another symptom of overdrawing the region’s critical water reserves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2022
This was done after a little hesitation: The money was given to him, but a gentleman from behind the desks begged him to remind Lady Carbury that she was overdrawing her account.
From The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
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.
