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:
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
The vines of a single zucchini or butternut squash can easily overgrow your entire raised bed.
From Salon ● May 22, 2022
Where the soil is not deep enough for trees to root securely, bushes and heathers overgrow the ground, and compete with their bell-shaped blossoms for the coveted favour of bees and butterflies.
From Science in Arcady by Grant Allen
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
Low-lying marshlands—beaver meadows where the wattled houses of the beaver had stopped up the current of streams till moss overgrew the swamps and the land became quaking muskeg—lay along the shores of the lake.
From Pathfinders of the West Being the Thrilling Story of the Adventures of the Men Who Discovered the Great Northwest: Radisson, La Vérendrye, Lewis and Clark by Agnes C. (Agnes Christina) Laut
Alas, it is shame that ever ye were made knight, to see such a lad to match such a knight, as the weed overgrew the corn.
From Le Mort d'Arthur: Volume 1 by Sir Thomas Malory
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 says.
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
Simulating big things allowed the young man to belittle many noble facts in nature, thus stunting his manly growth, and overgrowing this chilling pessimism with smart retorts.
From Cupology How to Be Entertaining by Clara
A resident of Launceston, Cornwall, goes above and beyond battling weeds and overgrown pathways free of charge to keep fit and help the community.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Its roads are scarred by potholes, sewage leaks and overgrown vegetation.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
The housework piled up, the yard is overgrown, her expenses have risen and she can’t keep up with her health now that he is gone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
The dogs’ sleeping quarters are modeled after the park’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride, with its fort-like corridors made of sun-dried brick, the walls strewn with overgrown jungle vines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The roof leaked, the carriage horses’ ribs showed, and the flower gardens were overgrown with weeds.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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