overcast

American  

[oh-ver-kast, -kahst, oh-ver-kast, -kahst, oh-ver-kast, -kahst, oh-ver-kast, -kahst, oh-ver-kast, -kahst] / ˈoʊ vərˈkæst, -ˈkɑst, ˈoʊ vərˌkæst, -ˌkɑst, ˌoʊ vərˈkæst, -ˈkɑst, ˈoʊ vərˌkæst, -ˌkɑst, ˈoʊ vərˌkæst, -ˌkɑst /

adjective

1. overspread or covered with clouds; cloudy.

   an overcast day.

2. Meteorology. (of the sky) more than 95 percent covered by clouds.

3. dark; gloomy.

4. Sewing. sewn by overcasting.

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verb (used with object)

overcast, overcasting

1. to overcloud, darken, or make gloomy.

   Ominous clouds began to overcast the sky.

2. to sew with stitches passing successively over an edge, especially long stitches set at intervals to prevent raveling.

verb (used without object)

overcast, overcasting

1. to become cloudy or dark.

   By noon it had begun to overcast.

noun

1. Meteorology. the condition of the sky when more than 95 percent covered by clouds.

2. Mining. a crossing of two passages, as airways, dug at the same level, in which one rises to pass over the other without opening into it.

overcast British  

adjective

1. covered over or obscured, esp by clouds

2. meteorol (of the sky) more than 95 per cent cloud-covered

3. gloomy or melancholy

4. sewn over by overcasting

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verb

1. to make or become overclouded or gloomy

2. to sew (an edge, as of a hem) with long stitches passing successively over the edge

noun

1. a covering, as of clouds or mist

2. meteorol the state of the sky when more than 95 per cent of it is cloud-covered

3. mining a crossing of two passages without an intersection

Etymology

Origin of overcast

1175–1225; Middle English (v.); over-, cast

Example Sentences

The midday sun has only just begun to peek through the overcast sky.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

And by practicing those little acts of love with each other every day, they make their little part of Minnesota all the more bright, even in the perpetually overcast winter.

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2026

There was nothing more the Swiss racer could do to reel in Franzoni's time in a race held in front of tens of thousands of baying fans in overcast conditions.

From Barron's • Jan. 24, 2026

But what sticks with us is the color: Despite the overcast sky, the mustard yellow and burnt orange of the boys’ shirt and sweater pop from the printed page.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026

We ate blackberries off and on all that second morning, which was cold and damp and overcast.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Related Words

• dismal
• dreary
• dull
• hazy
• leaden
• murky