as in to overload
to fill or load to excess
it is important that you bring on the hike plenty of food and water, but don't overburden your pack with unnecessary gear
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Recent Examples of overburden
More than 50 million Americans similarly rely on food banks and pantries for help, although these centers are also feeling overburdened.
—
Solcyré Burga, Time, 10 Nov. 2025
Frail, undernourished, lacking sufficient clothing, and shoeless, Kammo is overburdened by chores and in constant fear of chastisement.
—JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
Educators are already overburdened and under-resourced, Juchems said.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Numerous studies indicate that physicians have increasingly become overburdened with non-clinical tasks that routinely pull them away from direct patient care; in fact, many hospital systems are facing record attrition due to these factors.
—Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overburden
Solcyré Burga, Time, 10 Nov. 2025
Frail, undernourished, lacking sufficient clothing, and shoeless, Kammo is overburdened by chores and in constant fear of chastisement.
—JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
Educators are already overburdened and under-resourced, Juchems said.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Numerous studies indicate that physicians have increasingly become overburdened with non-clinical tasks that routinely pull them away from direct patient care; in fact, many hospital systems are facing record attrition due to these factors.
—Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overburden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overburden
Verb
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Be cognizant of overloading extension cords and be careful to keep heaters and flammable items away from other heat-generating devices.—
Lauren Caruba,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Jan. 2026
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Given its ever relevant themes, the film seems overloaded with influences at times—conscious or not—including The Substance (2024), Raw (2016), the 2001 Smallville episode ‘Craving’, and believe it or not, even the 2019 Bob’s Burgers episode ‘Pig Trouble in Little Tina’.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The birds get loaded underneath the tarp like that, squat cages stacked one on top of the other.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
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The user fills the tumbler with water and ice, fits the tumbler with the Ecoldbrew machine, loads the bean hopper (capacity 25 g) with whole beans, uses the rotary dial to set their preferred grind, and enters the brew time on the LED touchscreen.—
Shirl Leigh
January 22,
New Atlas,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Utilities are burdened with excessive documentation requirements that divert resources away from effective security measures.—
Saman Zonouz,
The Conversation,
22 Jan. 2026
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Financing, in particular, remains the most formidable barrier—especially for countries already burdened by high debt.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overburden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overburden. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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