overload
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
verb
noun
Etymology
Origin of overload
Explanation
To overload is to load an excessive amount in or on something, such as an overload of electricity which shorts out the circuits. Overloading causes a "Too much!" situation. To overload is to push something or someone too far. A supervisor can overload an employee by assigning too much work. People can overload a bus if there are too many of them. A fuse will blow if too many appliances overload the circuits; this is called an overload (the noun form). When something gets overloaded, it usually stops working. Hair can overload or clog a sink, which will stop draining water. When something gets overloaded, there's more of something than it can handle.
Vocabulary lists containing overload
The House of Hades
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When I Was the Greatest
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: over-
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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.
They emerge when effort gradually increases—when endurance, strength or skill expand over time in what is called progressive overload.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
Somewhere along the way, we stopped asking whether the system was working and started asking how much we could overload it.
From Slate • May 3, 2026
The result is a raucous, interactive, sensory overload.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
Settling into life outside the crammed living room has been "a bit of a sensory overload", with Boone needing to be introduced to new experiences gradually.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
An earnest and eager student, he signed up for an overload of classes.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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.
