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
- overgrowth noun
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.
Jaynes said Gaon is a private man who obtained a biology degree in college and allows the vegetation in his front yard to overgrow so he can observe butterflies and other insects.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 10, 2025
He will be checking on certain energetic perennials that his compositions rely on: Without editing, they will overgrow their territories, throwing off the weight of a design.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 10, 2022
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
Mr Merrick, who was from Leicester, is thought to have had a condition called Proteus syndrome which can cause tissue to overgrow.
From BBC • Jul. 31, 2021
The flowers of rhetoric and poetry have lost their freshness and charm; and a technical language has begun to supersede and overgrow them.
From Philebus by Jowett, Benjamin
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.
