oversupply

O1V4E1R1S1U1P3P3L1Y4
UK/əʊvəsəˈplʌɪ/

verb

To supply more than is needed.

“Near-synonym: overstock”

Similar
overstockglutsurfeitflood
OriginEnglish supply ← Middle English supplien ← Old French souploier →
UncommonFirst used 19th c.Scrabble 20
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Meanings

verboversupply (third-person singular simple present oversupplies, present participle oversupplying, simple past and past participle oversupplied)

present singular third person oversupplies · participle present oversupplying · participle past oversupplied · past oversupplied

  1. To supply more than is needed.
nounoversupply (countable and uncountable, plural oversupplies)

plural oversupplies

  1. countableuncountableAn excessive supply.First known use 19th c.

    Near-synonym: overstock

    1 more example

    He does not like twisting arms, LBJ's forte, preferring the force of reason, a commodity not in over-supply in the nation's capital.

    2012, Jurek Martin, “A Singular President”, in Literary Review, section 401

    Synonyms: overstock

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn excessive supply.

Similar
overstock

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe quality of being so overabundant that prices fall

Similar
glutsurfeit
Broader
overabundanceovermuchovermuchness

verbsupply with an excess of

Similar
floodglut
Broader
supplyproviderender
Also see
floodglutoverstocksurfeit

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

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*upó
  8. Proto-Italic*supo
  9. Latinsub
  10. Latinsub-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  12. Proto-Italic*plēō
  13. Latinpleō
  14. Latinsupplēre
  15. Old Frenchsouploier
  16. Middle Englishsupplien
  17. Englishsupply
  18. Englishoversupply

From over- + supply.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish ylitarjonta
  • ylitarjontaexcessive supply
Cite this entry
APA

oversupply. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oversupply

MLA

“oversupply.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oversupply. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oversupply,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oversupply.

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