Meanings
- uncountableThe incarceration of an excess number of people.
When we put a stop to the overincarceration, crime did not spike and there was a remarkably low felony rearrest rate of 4 percent a year for people who completed probation.
2015 November 10, Vincent Schiraldi, “What Mass Incarceration Looks Like for Juveniles”, in New York Times1 more example
Under his [Joe Biden's] administration, rather than movement toward the end of a system of over-incarceration, we are instead witnessing the beginning of a new prison “boom.”
2022 January 25, Eric Reinhart, “How Joe Biden Launched a New Prison Boom”, in SlateSynonyms: overimprisonment
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe incarceration of an excess number of people.
Origin
Cite this entry
overincarceration. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overincarceration
“overincarceration.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overincarceration. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overincarceration,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overincarceration.
Source: overincarceration on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.