oversubscribe

American  

[oh-ver-suhb-skrahyb] / ˌoʊ vər səbˈskraɪb /

verb (used with object)

oversubscribed, oversubscribing

1. to subscribe for more of than is available, expected, or required.

   The charity drive was oversubscribed by several thousand dollars.

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oversubscribe British  

/ ˌəʊvəsəbˈskraɪb /

verb

1. (tr; often passive) to subscribe or apply for in excess of available supply

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Other Word Forms

• oversubscriber
  noun
• oversubscription
  noun

Etymology

Origin of oversubscribe

First recorded in 1890–95; over- + subscribe

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oversubscribe oversubscribed oversubscribing

The Breeders Cup Juvenile did not oversubscribe and Anneau D’Or is in the field.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2019

On this date in 1917, Pima County became the first county in the nation to oversubscribe its Liberty Bond allotment.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 10, 2018

“Every year, in a matter of hours, we oversubscribe beyond the entire 85,000 slots plus,” Issa said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2016

Cocoa and rubber farmers, laborers, houseboys, clerks and merchants lined up by the hundreds to oversubscribe the issue, many signing with crosses and Xs.

From Time Magazine Archive

To their astonishment, British investors rushed in to oversubscribe the issue 60 times, thereby forcing a drawing to see who would actually get the coveted shares.

From Time Magazine Archive

Demand for SK Hynix shares is clear, he said, noting that the deal was reportedly seven times oversubscribed.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

But the US listing has enjoyed considerable interest, with Bloomberg reporting it was more than seven times oversubscribed -- and could be among the biggest ever.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

The retail portion of its offering was 413.6 times oversubscribed while the institutional tranche was 20.3 times covered.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

However, the facility is oversubscribed and has been forced to turn fans away.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Kamen told Lawrence that he and Ruben would have been happy to continue their search, but the oversubscribed cyclotron was unavailable for the lengthy bombardments the program required.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

What they think of this plan sturdy Belgians showed last week by oversubscribing a one-billion-franc internal loan offered by the Government to the public at 5%.

From Time Magazine Archive

They were asked in addition to buy government bonds to a total of fourteen billions, and they responded by oversubscribing this amount by nearly five billions.

From Woodrow Wilson and the World War A Chronicle of Our Own Times. by Seymour, Charles