overman

1 of 2

noun

over·​man ˈō-vər-mən 

-ˌman

1

: a man in authority over others

specifically : foreman

2

-ˌman

[translation of German Übermensch] : superman sense 1

overman

2 of 2

verb

over·​man ˌō-vər-ˈman 

overmanned; overmanning; overmans

transitive verb

: to have or get too many personnel for the needs of

overman a ship

Examples of overman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Not the whole overwrought overman stuff, and not the conflation of pity and weakness. — Christian Wiman, Harper's magazine, 20 Jan. 2020

Verb

With overmanning, the problem is that there’s only so much room for specific tasks to be performed. — Janay Kingsberry, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2026

Fernandinho, as the lone holding midfielder, can be overmanned, while central defender Nicolas Otamendi, for all his improvement this season, can still be exposed by players running at him. — Jonathan Wilson, SI.com, 8 Dec. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1637, in the meaning defined above