overscore

American  

[oh-ver-skawr, -skohr] / ˌoʊ vərˈskɔr, -ˈskoʊr /

verb (used with object)

overscored, overscoring

1. to score over, as with strokes or lines.

---

overscore British  

/ ˌəʊvəˈskɔː /

verb

1. (tr) to cancel or cross out by drawing a line or lines over or through

---

Etymology

Origin of overscore

First recorded in 1840–50; over- + score

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

overscore overscored overscoring

Most of the cello’s range, however, is smack in the middle of the orchestra as a whole, and it’s terribly easy for a composer to overscore the music and swamp the soloist.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 16, 2017

An admitted overscore or underscore may be amended without penalty before the cards are dealt for the following round.

From Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby by Anonymous

If you write by hand print out proper names as legibly as possible; underscore u and overscore n.

From Newspaper Reporting and Correspondence A Manual for Reporters, Correspondents, and Students of Newspaper Writing by Hyde, Grant Milnor

When necessary to write in long hand, underscore u and overscore n, and print proper names and unusual words.

From The Style Book of The Detroit News by News, The Detroit

Though overedited and overscored, in its depiction of interspecies coexistence it’s a heartfelt, if simpler, companion piece to the feature documentary nominee “All That Breathes.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2023

Auden and Kallman thought that Henze overscored this part of the opera.

From New York Times ● Aug. 17, 2018

“She was overscored, but I’m not sure had she been scored correctly that it would have been any different,” said Kurt Browning, a four-time world champion from Canada.

From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2014

And, ere I left, a surging shade Of clouds, a distant horde, Should break and Fugi's cone stand clear— With sutras overscored.

From Nirvana Days by Rice, Cale Young

Voices, horns, drums, the tramp of a thousand footsteps on the rubber pavements, the sombre roll of wheels from the station behind—all united in one overwhelmingly solemn booming, overscored by shriller notes.

From Lord of the World by Benson, Robert Hugh

Krasinski emphasizes poignancy over coherence, with composer Michael Giacchino wildly overscoring the piece in order to convey narrative beats that simply aren’t there.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2024