overkill
Americannoun
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the capacity of a nation to destroy, by nuclear weapons, more of an enemy than would be necessary for a military victory.
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an instance of such destruction.
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an excess of what is required or suitable, as because of zeal or misjudgment.
noun
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the capability to deploy more weapons, esp nuclear weapons, than is necessary to ensure military advantage
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any capacity or treatment that is greater than that required or appropriate
Etymology
Origin of overkill
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.
Together, they represent overkill of an enormity that should be considered essentially unfathomable.
From Salon
It’s not overkill; it’s future-you leaving breadcrumbs for next year’s you.
From Salon
The comedic overkill of the insult is on purpose.
From Los Angeles Times
This is the worst but certainly not the only instance of overkill, to put it plainly.
She left partly because she was ordering a lot of tests that seemed like overkill.
From Barron's
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.
