overload

[oh-ver-lohd, oh-ver-lohd]

verb (used with object)

1. to load to excess; overburden.

   Don't overload the raft or it will sink.

noun

1. an excessive load.

overload

verb

1. (tr) to put too large a load on or in

noun

1. an excessive load

Word History and Origins

Origin of overload¹

First recorded in 1545–55; over- + load

Example Sentences

The Princess of Wales has warned that an overload of smartphones and computer screens is creating an "epidemic of disconnection" that disrupts family life.

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Requests are soaring just as some hospitals are scaling back on training because their staff nurses are too overloaded to take on more students.

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Sometimes the issue is “overload in terms of work — homework or job responsibilities, taking care of family,” Pope said.

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He immediately came under fire within Israel, with opposition leader Yair Lapid writing: "Today saw a weary and whining Israeli prime minister, in a speech overloaded with overused gimmicks"

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Hawke doesn’t overload their delicate dances or any of his other scene partnerships with an insistence on pulling the spotlight, true to his character’s unspoken self-regard as a guide who happens to investigate his curiosities.

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Related Words

• overburden 
• overwhelm