overdue

[oh-ver-doo, -dyoo]

adjective

1. past due, as a delayed train or a bill not paid by the assigned date; late.

   two overdue library books.

   Synonyms: behindhand, tardy

2. too long awaited; needed or expected for some time.

   Improvements in our highway system are long overdue.

3. more than sufficiently advanced, mature, or ready.

   That country is overdue for industrial development.

overdue

/ ˌəʊvəˈdjuː /

adjective

1. past the time specified, required, or preferred for arrival, occurrence, payment, etc

Other Word Forms

• overdueness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of overdue¹

First recorded in 1835–45; over- + due

Example Sentences

Then there was the long overdue goal, a gorgeous thing that reflected all of Greece's coolness and class, their speed of thought and movement.

Read more on BBC

A shakeout that some believe is overdue could soon follow.

Read more on MarketWatch

He told the broadcasters ominously: “Gentlemen, your trust accounting with your beneficiaries is overdue. . . . There is nothing permanent or sacred about a broadcast license.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Both of these initiatives are long overdue and require our immediate and full attention,” Daniels said.

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"Without that phone call from the wife, nobody would have known these guys were overdue until somebody saw the cars parked outside the cave for a couple of days," he added.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• belated 
• delinquent 
• outstanding 
• tardy 
• unpaid