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overqualified

American

[oh-ver-kwol-uh-fahyd] / ˈoʊ vərˈkwɒl əˌfaɪd /

adjective

having more education, training, or experience than is required for a job or position.

overqualified British

/ ˌəʊvəˈkwɒlɪˌfaɪd /

adjective

having more managerial experience or academic qualifications than required for a particular job

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of overqualified

First recorded in 1950–55; over- + qualified

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:

overqualified

Some graduates may be settling for jobs that weren’t their first or even second choice or that they are way overqualified for.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

I’m paid 25 percent less than I was for my job at Meta, with five annual PTO days and zero paid holidays, and I’m overqualified for the work I do.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026

Gen Z women participate in the workforce at higher rates than their male counterparts, and often accept jobs they’re overqualified for rather than not working.

From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2025

Gilchrist scored 17 Test hundreds as he switched between a destroyer of tiring attacks to a man overqualified for a rebuild from number seven when the great Australian top order did fail.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2025

I had been vain enough to worry about coming across as too educated for the jobs I sought, but no one even seems interested in finding out how overqualified I am.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023