OVERBURDEN

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does overburden mean? 

• OVERBURDEN (noun)
  The noun OVERBURDEN has 2 senses:

1. the surface soil that must be moved away to get at coal seams and mineral deposits

2. an excessive burden

  Familiarity information: OVERBURDEN used as a noun is rare.

• OVERBURDEN (verb)
  The verb OVERBURDEN has 2 senses:

1. burden with too much work or responsibility

2. load with excessive weight

  Familiarity information: OVERBURDEN used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OVERBURDEN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The surface soil that must be moved away to get at coal seams and mineral deposits

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("overburden" is a kind of...):

ground; land; soil (material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use))

Sense 2

Meaning:

An excessive burden

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

overburden; overload

Hypernyms ("overburden" is a kind of...):

burden; load; loading (weight to be borne or conveyed)

Derivation:

overburden (burden with too much work or responsibility)

overburden (load with excessive weight)

• OVERBURDEN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they overburden    ... he / she / it overburdens   
Past simple: overburdened   
Past participle: overburdened   
-ing form: overburdening   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Burden with too much work or responsibility

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "overburden" is one way to...):

burden; charge; saddle (impose a task upon, assign a responsibility to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody with something

Derivation:

overburden (an excessive burden)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Load with excessive weight

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "overburden" is one way to...):

burden; burthen; weight; weight down (weight down with a load)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

overburden (an excessive burden)

 Context examples 

This caution is necessary, to prevent the country from being overburdened with numbers.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)