overapply

O1V4E1R1A1P3P3L1Y4

verb

To apply to excess.

OriginEnglish apply ← Middle English aplien ← Old French applier →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

verboverapply (third-person singular simple present overapplies, present participle overapplying, simple past and past participle overapplied)

present singular third person overapplies · participle present overapplying · participle past overapplied · past overapplied

  1. transitiveTo apply to excess.

    German speakers, like English speakers, are prone to overapplying the weak suffix (-t) to irregular verbs, resulting in errors.

    1999, Steven Pinker, Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Germanic*uber
  4. Old Englishofer-
  5. Middle Englishover-
  6. Englishover-
  7. Latinapplicō
  8. Old Frenchapplier
  9. Middle Englishaplien
  10. Englishapply
  11. Englishoverapply

From over- + apply.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

overapply. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overapply

MLA

“overapply.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overapply. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overapply,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overapply.

Source: overapply on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.