overcrowd

O1V4E1R1C3R1O1W4D2

verb

To fill beyond reasonable limits, with people, animals, objects or information.

OriginEnglish crowd ← Middle English crouden ← Old English crūdan →
RareScrabble 18
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Meanings

verbovercrowd (third-person singular simple present overcrowds, present participle overcrowding, simple past and past participle overcrowded)

present singular third person overcrowds · participle present overcrowding · participle past overcrowded · past overcrowded

  1. To fill beyond reasonable limits, with people, animals, objects or information.

    The host of business travellers between Bishops Stortford and London would scarcely take kindly to devious routing via the Southbury line; on the other hand, it is not desirable that they should overcrowd the business trains to and from Cambridge.

    1961 January, “The North-East London electrification of the Great Eastern Line”, in Trains Illustrated, page 19

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
crowd in

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Germanic*uber
  4. Old Englishofer-
  5. Middle Englishover-
  6. Englishover-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*grewt-
  8. Proto-Germanic*krūdaną
  9. Proto-West Germanic*krūdan
  10. Old Englishcrūdan
  11. Middle Englishcrouden
  12. Englishcrowd
  13. Englishovercrowd

From over- + crowd.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian претъпквам
  • претъпквам (pretăpkvam)to fill beyond reasonable limits
Hungarian túlzsúfol, túlnépesít
  • túlzsúfolto fill beyond reasonable limits
  • túlnépesítto fill beyond reasonable limits
Italian affollare
  • affollareto fill beyond reasonable limits
Māori opuru
  • opuruto fill beyond reasonable limits
Polish zatłaczać, zatłoczyć
  • zatłaczaćto fill beyond reasonable limits
  • zatłoczyćto fill beyond reasonable limits
  • przepełniaćto fill beyond reasonable limits
  • przepełnićto fill beyond reasonable limits
Portuguese sobrelotar, superlotar
  • sobrelotarto fill beyond reasonable limits
  • superlotarto fill beyond reasonable limits
Spanish amuchar demasiadamente
  • amuchar demasiadamenteto fill beyond reasonable limits
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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