over·load
ˌō-vər-ˈlōd 
overloaded; overloading; overloads
: to load (something or someone) to excess: such as
a
: to put too large a load on or in (something)
overload a ship
overload a washing machine
Overloading the trailer poses a safety risk.
… a bad winter can so overload roofs with snow that their collapses become endemic.—
Henry Petroski
Henry Petroski
b
: to give too much of something to (someone or something) : to supply with an excess of something
overloading students with more information than they can retain
More than ever, the upper middle class is synonymous with the stressed-out class. Their bosses are overloading them with work …—Joseph Spiers
Joseph Spiers… have overloaded the market with too many strange designs and weird color combinations.—Mimi Valdés
Mimi Valdésa movie overloaded with special effects
a court system overloaded with criminal cases
c
: to cause too large a load in (something, such as an electrical circuit)
Too much current traveling through one circuit can cause an overload. The wires inside a wall can get too hot and start a fire. Using a special safety power strip can help prevent overloading a circuit.—Science
Science
over·load
ˈō-vər-ˌlōd
plural overloads
: an excessive load or amount of something
an overload of cargo
an overload of details
If your dog is suffering from an overload of stress, he will appear depressed, inactive, sluggish and unresponsive.—Daniel Seligman
Daniel SeligmanYou fight your superficiality, your shallowness, so as to try to come at people without unreal expectations, without an overload of bias or hope or arrogance …—Philip Roth
Philip RothIf you're a regular reader of blogs, … you've probably been frustrated from time to time by information overload: the blogosphere creates way too much material for any human being to comfortably digest.—Chris Taylor
Chris TaylorLarge department stores tend to bring on sensory overload [=overstimulation of the senses] …—Stephen O'Shea and Joan Harting
Stephen O'Shea and Joan HartingSynonyms
Examples of overload in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebMatt Novak / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
However, that’s just what can happen when cellphone towers are overloaded with more visitors to a town than usual.
—Matt Novak / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024
One of the most powerful solar flares on record happened in 2003, according to NASA, which overloaded the sensors measuring it.
—John Tufts, The Courier-Journal, 22 Feb. 2024
The game’s wild popularity has consistently overloaded servers, resulting in disconnects, crashes or the inability to log into the game at all.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
If a vehicle has the wrong capacity weight value, the car may be overloaded, leading to a risk of a crash, according to the NHSTA report.
—USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024
However, Cruz and Gomez overloaded the boat beyond its maximum capacity, according to prosecutors.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2024
Jeremiah’s main point: if Williams is starting in September, coaches won’t overload him, having seen that backfire too often with other rookies.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2024
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2024
But there are so many warnings and some are so sensitive, safety overload is an issue.
—James Raia, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024
Picking consistency over transparency helps reduce information overload and helps the team stay focused on the solution rather than the problem.
—Marco Costa, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Another leading cause of burnout is information overload.
—Sunita Mishra, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2024
In the age of information overload and endless celebrity endorsements, Minaj’s collaborations continue to carve out a unique space, demonstrating that certain celebrities have the extraordinary ability to cut through the noise.
—Kate Hardcastle, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Danielle Carr Given too much room to roam, an Adderall article or essay can become overly ambitious, wandering and sprawling out into a totally unreadable (and unpublishable) manifesto that usually ends up foundering under the weight of overload.
—Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 26 Mar. 2024
In this era of information overload, the power of word-of-mouth and unified messaging cannot be overstated.
—Dara A. Busch, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2024
This bill is a blatant maneuver to subvert the overwhelming opposition of the area’s residents to the huge development at Lutherville Station with its attendant massive traffic overload.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 25 Jan. 2024
Verb
New York state campgrounds are going to be at 93% of capacity for Monday, according to state officials, meaning that all of those smaller towns could see systems overloaded.
—Matt Novak / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
However, that’s just what can happen when cellphone towers are overloaded with more visitors to a town than usual.
—Matt Novak / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 19 Mar. 2024
One of the most powerful solar flares on record happened in 2003, according to NASA, which overloaded the sensors measuring it.
—John Tufts, The Courier-Journal, 22 Feb. 2024
The game’s wild popularity has consistently overloaded servers, resulting in disconnects, crashes or the inability to log into the game at all.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
If a vehicle has the wrong capacity weight value, the car may be overloaded, leading to a risk of a crash, according to the NHSTA report.
—USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024
However, Cruz and Gomez overloaded the boat beyond its maximum capacity, according to prosecutors.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2024
Jeremiah’s main point: if Williams is starting in September, coaches won’t overload him, having seen that backfire too often with other rookies.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Feb. 2024
Noun
Heading downtown for Ultra, Miami Heat or ‘Hamilton?’ Expect detours, street shutdowns
Here are the precise times Ultra 2024 is in action when the sound and gridlock fury will likely hit max overload.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2024
But there are so many warnings and some are so sensitive, safety overload is an issue.
—James Raia, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024
Picking consistency over transparency helps reduce information overload and helps the team stay focused on the solution rather than the problem.
—Marco Costa, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Another leading cause of burnout is information overload.
—Sunita Mishra, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2024
In the age of information overload and endless celebrity endorsements, Minaj’s collaborations continue to carve out a unique space, demonstrating that certain celebrities have the extraordinary ability to cut through the noise.
—Kate Hardcastle, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Danielle Carr Given too much room to roam, an Adderall article or essay can become overly ambitious, wandering and sprawling out into a totally unreadable (and unpublishable) manifesto that usually ends up foundering under the weight of overload.
—Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 26 Mar. 2024
In this era of information overload, the power of word-of-mouth and unified messaging cannot be overstated.
—Dara A. Busch, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2024
This bill is a blatant maneuver to subvert the overwhelming opposition of the area’s residents to the huge development at Lutherville Station with its attendant massive traffic overload.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 25 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overload.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near overload
Cite this Entry
“Overload.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overload. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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