overlap

[oh-ver-lap, oh-ver-lap]

verb (used with object)

overlapped, overlapping 

1. to lap over (something else or each other); extend over and cover a part of; imbricate.

2. to cover and extend beyond (something else).

   The ends of cloth overlap the table.

3. to coincide in part with; have in common with.

   two lives that overlapped each other.

verb (used without object)

overlapped, overlapping 

1. to lap over.

   two sales territories that overlap; fields of knowledge that overlap.

noun

1. an act or instance of overlapping.

2. the extent or amount of overlapping.

   The second story of the building has an overlap of ten feet.

3. an overlapping part.

4. the place of overlapping.

5. (in yacht racing) the position of two yachts side by side such that the overtaking boat, to pass the other on the opposite side, must fall back, or such that neither can turn toward the other without danger of collision.

overlap

verb

1. (of two things) to extend or lie partly over (each other)

2. to cover and extend beyond (something)

3. (intr) to coincide partly in time, subject, etc

noun

1. a part that overlaps or is overlapped

2. the amount, length, etc, overlapping

3. the act or fact of overlapping

4. a place of overlapping

5. geology the horizontal extension of the upper beds in a series of rock strata beyond the lower beds, usually caused by submergence of the land

Other Word Forms

• nonoverlapping adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of overlap¹

First recorded in 1685–95; over- + lap ²

Example Sentences

In northeast Los Angeles, these zones overlap with transit stops in multiple places.

From Los Angeles Times

Many of the symptoms between cold, flu and more serious viruses like Covid, overlap.

From BBC

“I don’t know why that became the thing that gets me the most angry. I think it’s because it’s so intersectional that it overlaps with everything from climate change to LGBTQIA+ issues.”

From Los Angeles Times

Unlike most novelists, his voice has two distinct but overlapping registers.

From Los Angeles Times

Along the California coastline, overlapping layers of regulations make it hard to build at any time.

From Los Angeles Times