overlay
1 Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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overlays
plural
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something laid over something else; covering.
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a layer or decoration of something applied.
an overlay of gold.
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Printing.
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a shaped piece of paper, or a sheet of paper reinforced at the proper places by shaped pieces, put on the tympan of a press to increase or equalize the impression.
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a method of preparing copy for multicolor printing, in which matter for each color is prepared on a transparent sheet that is placed over a key plate, usually the one to be printed in black.
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the sheet or sheets so prepared.
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a sheet of transparent paper placed over a photograph, a dummy, or other artwork for noting corrections, instructions, mechanical separations, etc.
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Computers. software or data in external storage and brought into main storage for execution by replacing or augmenting software or data already there.
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a transparent sheet giving special military information not ordinarily shown on maps, used by being placed over the map on which it is based.
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a decorative piece of leather or other material stitched on a shoe.
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Scot. a cravat.
verb
verb
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to lay or place something over or upon (something else)
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(often foll by with) to cover, overspread, or conceal (with)
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(foll by with) to cover (a surface) with an applied decoration
ebony overlaid with silver
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to achieve the correct printing pressure all over (a forme or plate) by adding to the appropriate areas of the packing
noun
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something that is laid over something else; covering
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an applied decoration or layer, as of gold leaf
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a transparent sheet giving extra details to a map or diagram over which it is designed to be placed
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printing material, such as paper, used to overlay a forme or plate
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of overlay
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at over-, lay 1
Explanation
To overlay is to cover with a coating or a layer, or to set one thing on top of another. A winter storm will sometimes overlay a dangerously slick coating of ice on top of the road. An artist might overlay a ceramic object with gold, or overlay one piece of paper on another in a collage. The layer itself, whether it's clear plastic or cement or silver, is also called an overlay. Another kind of overlay, dating from the 1930s, is the transparent sheet of paper in a book that covers a map or other full-page illustration.
Vocabulary lists containing overlay
"The Pale Mare" and "Caged Bird"
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Loser
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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.
See Examples For:
The former Manchester mayor comes off as a gregarious, upbeat fellow with an admittedly nerdy overlay.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
But a digital forensics expert told AFP's fact-checkers that the anomaly was the result of a failed text overlay by a news station that had syndicated the official feed.
From Barron's ● Apr. 11, 2026
The other is an overlay of orange and yellow splotches on the land.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
“I just don’t think agentic AI overlay on going out, filling out a bunch of forms is really going to solve any consumer’s problems anytime soon,” he says on an analyst call.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
He tried to forget those horrible images, overlay them with other ones.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Augmented reality is a technology that overlays digital displays against real-world surroundings.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
As team principal Andrea Stella put it: "When we look at the GPS overlays, we see that Mercedes is faster in some of the corners."
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
With six game cartridges and plastic overlays, the Odyssey setup offered 12 different games when it first retailed for $100—or about $770 in today’s dollars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
The newest tax strategies for investors are actively managed long/short SMAs and options overlays.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
Over the speakers, with no virtual overlays, she switches to speaking English.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Like other smart glasses, Specs will use AI to let people see digital elements overlaid onto the world.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Another post showed a map of North America - including Canada and Mexico - and Greenland all overlaid with the US flag.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
“How was that tennis rally won? How did that soccer attack build? It can be instantly overlaid with lavish graphics unpacking the action.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
AR glasses let users see the world around them, overlaid with three-dimensional graphics, a fusion of the real and digital worlds.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
She was accustomed to the chorus of meadowlarks and sandpipers and prairie chickens, now overlaid with the pock-pocking of drills pounding the earth.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Augmented reality involves overlaying digital objects onto a person’s view of the physical world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
His debut ad felt like an Aquaman trailer, the veteran and oyster farmer’s basso profondo voice overlaying scenes of him in wet suits, splitting wood, piloting a boat, flying the flag, swinging a kettlebell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
TikTok users often take part in trends by using the audio of popular videos and overlaying it with their own clips.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2024
A material like amber is formed over tens of thousands of years, when the heat and pressure of overlaying sediment causes a complex chemical reaction resulting in the resin-like stone.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2024
And overlaying all of this was the history of Howard itself.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
