overabundance

noun

over·​abun·​dance ˌō-vər-ə-ˈbən-dən(t)s 

plural overabundances

: a large surplus : excess

an overabundance of options

Between the women's movement and the first large wave of baby boomers, the career track was suddenly clogged with an overabundance of qualified people.

—Phillip Moffitt

overabundant

ˌō-vər-ə-ˈbən-dənt 

adjective

Overabundant use of livestock and chicken feed laced with antibiotics is a primary force behind the evolution of drug-resistant strains that then find their way into people.

—Wayne Biddle

Overabundant elk ate trees down to their nubs, leaving beavers with no lumber for their dams, which, in turn, changed the flow of rivers.

—Sara Reardon

overabundantly adverb

The meals … were mainly taken at the hotel and were included in the trip package. We were fed overabundantly three times a day.

—R. V. Denenberg

… Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, an overabundantly plotted melodrama set in 15th-century Paris.

—Tom Gliatto

Synonyms

• bellyful
• excess
• fat
• overage
• overflow
• overkill
• overmuch
• overplus
• oversupply
• plethora
• plus
• redundancy
• superabundance
• superfluity
• surfeit
• surplus
• surplusage

Examples of overabundance in a Sentence

an overabundance of desserts at a potluck dinner

Recent Examples on the Web

The downside there is that if the infinite Einsteins are acting like lemmings, this seems to increase the chances of any mistakes being given an overabundance of confidence. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025

So these companies are basically backing away in an overabundance of caution. —Anthony Man, Sun Sentinel, 7 June 2025

In fact, some groups are saying the nice weather contributed to an overabundance of renewable energy causing line congestion and ultimately system instability. —Renny Vandewege, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025

Media executives and their advisers have been saying for years that the industry needs a drastic overhaul to address its new reality: an overabundance of streaming options and the decline of the legacy cable industry. —Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overabundance

• superabundance
• abundance