Synonyms

overeat

American

[oh-ver-eet] / ˌoʊ vərˈit /

verb (used without object)

to eat too much.

If you overeat, you're bound to get fat.

verb (used with object)

to eat more than is good for (oneself ).

The food was so tasty we overate ourselves.

overeat British

/ əʊvərˈiːt /

verb

to consume too much food

"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

overeater

noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of overeat

First recorded in 1515–25; over- + eat

Explanation

If you gobble up so much lasagna or so many slices of birthday cake that your stomach hurts, you overeat, or consume too much. When people eat too much food, more than they need or are hungry for, they overeat. If you overeat regularly for a long time, you'll gain extra weight. One indulgent night of overeating may simply give you terrible indigestion and the desire to never see another hot dog in your life. We've used this verb, which comes from the Old English oferæt, "gluttony," since the 1590s.

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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.

As millions of people turned to the medications to lose weight, physicians and researchers started to hear that the lack of desire to overeat extended to drinking.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 23, 2025

Ultra-processed foods are high in sodium, added sugar, saturated fats and chemicals that are designed to make the food easy and pleasurable to eat and overeat, Chiu said.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2025

This is what UK scientists have discovered - identifying a genetic source of many labradors' - and some people's - tendency to overeat.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2025

Advocating for the lower 2,000 calorie baseline, they reasoned, would offset Americans' tendency to overeat and do more good than harm for the population overall.

From Salon • Jul. 16, 2024

He forgot Lavinia Lyte as he thought of the wonderful things it was her privilege to overeat if she wished.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023