overharvest

[ oh-ver-hahr-vist ]

noun
  1. Also overharvesting . the excessive harvest of animals, plants, or other organisms, especially harvesting beyond a species’ capacity for population replacement, causing population decline and sometimes extinction: Shovelnose sturgeon are long-lived, slow-growing fish that do not spawn every year, making them vulnerable to overharvesting.Having survived for more than 400 million years, the horseshoe crab is now under threat primarily due to overharvest and habitat destruction.

verb (used with or without object)
  1. to excessively harvest animals, plants, or other organisms, especially to harvest to an extent beyond a species’ capacity for population replacement, causing population decline and sometimes extinction: Be careful not to overharvest wild onions—you want to be sure the patch can regrow next year.Fishing fleets overharvested off the Grand Banks for decades, eventually causing the cod population to crash.

Origin of overharvest

1
First recorded in 1935–40; over- + harvest

Words Nearby overharvest

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024