overgrow
Americanverb (used with object)
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to grow over; cover with a growth of something.
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to grow beyond, grow too large for, or outgrow.
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to outdo in growing; choke or supplant by a more exuberant growth.
verb (used without object)
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to grow to excess; grow too large.
When the vegetable overgrows, it tends to be woody.
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to become grown over, as with weeds.
An untended garden will quickly overgrow.
verb
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(tr) to grow over or across (an area, path, lawn, etc)
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(tr) to choke or supplant by a stronger growth
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(tr) to grow too large for
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(intr) to grow beyond normal size
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of overgrow
First recorded in 1300–50, overgrow is from the Middle English word overgrowen. See over-, grow
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:
We moved on to his backyard, where mi tío had trimmed hedges that the previous owner let overgrow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2023
Don’t let plants overgrow them, and make sure no dirt or debris is getting in.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2023
People who take high doses of antibiotics tend to lose many of their normal gut bacteria, allowing a naturally antibiotic-resistant species called Clostridium difficile to overgrow and cause severe gastric problems, especially chronic diarrhea.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The vines of a single zucchini or butternut squash can easily overgrow your entire raised bed.
From Salon ● May 22, 2022
A great part of the Kara Buran, as of Lob-Nor, is overgrow with reeds, the river flowing in its bed in the centre.
From The Life of Yakoob Beg Athalik Ghazi, and Badaulet; Ameer of Kashgar by Demetrius Charles Boulger
A few days of stubble almost overgrew a soul patch under his lip, like weeds overtaking a garden.
From New York Times ● Jun. 1, 2016
Grass overgrew "South Penn" embankments, saplings pushed their way through its rock ballast and water seeped higher and higher over the rubble of the tunnels.
From Time Magazine Archive
It showed no variation but of tint: green, where rush and moss overgrew the marshes; black, where the dry soil bore only heath.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Suspicion overgrew confidence, and the heart bristled with the nettles and thorns of fear and jealousy.
From Twelve Causes of Dishonesty by Henry Ward Beecher
—Or, are those old thoughts returning, Guests the dull sense never knew, Stars, set deep, yet inly burning, Germs, your untrimm'd passion overgrew?
From Poetical Works of Matthew Arnold by Matthew Arnold
Researchers speculate that people may have brought the rodent to California as a natural remedy to battle overgrowing vegetation or simply because they liked them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
We are witnessing a population of infant black holes overgrowing their nurseries and flourishing faster than expected in the distant, early universe.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 21, 2023
"To walk on the roads because the path isn't safe because of all the hemlock and vegetation overgrowing, they're being put in this really difficult and unsafe position," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2023
Both animals are being used to munch overgrowing vegetation and fertilize the soil to “rewild” the landscapes.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 7, 2023
The weeds are overgrowing my burial-place, and they deaden even thy sorrow, O my aged father!
From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, November, 1878 of Popular Literature and Science by Various
Resident Elz Ravenscroft asked Vernon if he would cut back the overgrown bushes on the pavement which her daughter used to walk to and from school.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Forest Service, are overgrown because of decades of fire suppression, and that thinning them out through controlled burns would help reduce the amount of water absorbed by upland vegetation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
It remainsfenced-off, with trash and graffitiand with overgrown vines covering tributes to Kennedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
"I got involved two years ago and the site was completely overgrown," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The house was before them, overgrown with honeysuckle, dark-windowed, looking abandoned.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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