overleverage

[oh-ver-lev-er-ij, ‑-lee-ver‑]

verb (used with or without object)

overleveraged, overleveraging 

1. to get into too much debt.

   The hotel was overleveraged and had an insufficient cash flow.

Word History and Origins

Origin of overleverage¹

over- + leverage

Example Sentences

He said the biggest hazard for investors in income-producing real estate was “overleverage,” or taking on too much debt in a business in which downturns and recessions are a given — something the Gleins said they have been careful to avoid.

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‘We don’t see oversupply or overleverage.’

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“The overleverage is in corporate America,” she said.

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"There's no question that, when rates are low for a long time, that there are opportunities for frothiness and, perhaps, overleverage in particular asset markets. And I do think we need to be aware of that," Tarullo said.

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Likewise, the case for allowing large financial institutions to overleverage and play Russian roulette with the economy was nonexistent.

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