Illustration of overall
- overall 1b
over·all
ˌō-vər-ˈȯl 
1
: all over sense 1
the pattern used overall
2
: from one end to the other
600 feet long overall
3
a
: in view of all the circumstances or conditions
overall, the sale was a success
b
: as a whole : generally
doesn't do as well overall
overall and in most of its detail the film has remarkable power—
Time
Time
c
: with everyone or everything taken into account
was third overall in earnings
got 31 miles to the gallon overall
over·all
ˈō-vər-ˌȯl
1
a
b
usually overalls
: trousers of strong material usually with a bib and shoulder straps
2
chiefly British
: a loose-fitting protective smock worn over regular clothing
over·all
ˌō-vər-ˈȯl
ˈō-vər-ˌȯl
ˈō-vər-ˌȯl
1
: including everything
2
: viewed as a whole : general
Synonyms
Examples of overall in a Sentence
Adverb
He made a few mistakes but did well overall.
Overall, the project was successful.
Adjective
your overall score after two rounds
His mistake didn't change my overall impression of him.
Your overall health is sound.
She likes the overall quality of the product.
The scratch didn't affect the car's overall appearance.
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Recent Examples on the WebChristian Allaire, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2023
The Italian suede is perfectly soft, but overall this bag doesn’t feel too precious either.
—Hillary Maglin, Travel + Leisure, 19 Sep. 2023
Life eventually changed dramatically for Bateman, who earned All-Big Ten honors at Minnesota, when he was drafted 27th overall in 2021 by the Ravens.
—Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 15 Sep. 2023
Consumer sentiment overall tracked by the University of Michigan edged down in September from the prior month by 1.8 points, mostly due to gloomier attitudes about the economy’s current situation.
—Bryan Mena, CNN, 15 Sep. 2023
Pressure was also coming from investors and Wall Street amid concerns that studios could post major losses due to the strike, which is biting into California’s economy overall.
—Erica Werner, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
The Galaxy have also won their past two meetings with LAFC and lead the series with nine wins overall.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
In the meantime, check out our current favorite Bose headphones, and our top headphones overall from any brand.
—Tim Gideon, PCMAG, 14 Sep. 2023
Friday and Saturday will offer a chance of isolated showers and thunderstorms, but a much lower chance overall.
—Kxas-Tv (nbc5), Dallas News, 14 Sep. 2023
Andrew Gillis, cleveland, 19 Sep. 2023
Kansas City has gone 28-47 in home games and 48-102 overall.
—Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 18 Sep. 2023
Two spots after Taylor Heise was chosen No. 1 overall by Minnesota, Boston selected Alina Mueller, the Huskies’ all-time leading scorer, with the third pick in the inaugural draft held in Toronto.
—Kat Cornetta, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Sep. 2023
The drums on this track benefit from a slightly enhanced thump, but generally, the lows sound quite natural overall.
—Joe Hindy, PCMAG, 18 Sep. 2023
But don’t overlook Frisco, which is the only 2-0 team in 6-5A Division I. Frisco (3-1 overall), which missed the playoffs last year, beat Frisco Centennial 42-0 as quarterback Cobyn Harbert accounted for three touchdowns and the defense allowed only 190 total yards.
—Greg Riddle, Dallas News, 16 Sep. 2023
McDonogh improved to 3-0 overall, while Spalding fell to 1-1-2.
—Glenn Graham, Baltimore Sun, 13 Sep. 2023
For a team ranked No. 1 overall on 247Sports’ talent composite, that’s not a good thing.
—Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 16 Sep. 2023
One Street Grandma piece, inspired by a vintage Champion tee from the 1970s, features a trompe l’oeil image of blue overalls over a capacious, heavyweight, white cotton tee.
—Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2023
Lauryn Higgins, Health, 27 Sep. 2023
That group, however, represented only 16.6% of the overall sample.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 26 Sep. 2023
In the end, the issues are interconnected and must work within an overall agreement that supports our mutual success.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2023
This award is not necessarily for the team supporting the biggest or top-selling tour of the year, but for the crew that has clearly demonstrated the most heart and spirit on the road, making the biggest overall contribution to elevating country music.
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 26 Sep. 2023
The Nepalese population saw a substantial uptick, the report said, with a 250% overall increase between 2010 and 2020.
—Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News, 26 Sep. 2023
Wilson, the team’s second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is 8-16 in his 24 starts with New York over his young career.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 26 Sep. 2023
The efforts came under the belief that the market for podcast advertising—currently $2.3 billion—would end up being a bigger portion of the overall $200 billion digital-ad market, according to the Wall Street Journal.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2023
But overall customer satisfaction with the app dipped from 3.4 to 3.1 on a scale of 1 to 5, the study found.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Sep. 2023
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Adverb
Her gold Cartier Tank watch, though, helped make the ensemble feel elegant overall.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2023
The Italian suede is perfectly soft, but overall this bag doesn’t feel too precious either.
—Hillary Maglin, Travel + Leisure, 19 Sep. 2023
Life eventually changed dramatically for Bateman, who earned All-Big Ten honors at Minnesota, when he was drafted 27th overall in 2021 by the Ravens.
—Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 15 Sep. 2023
Consumer sentiment overall tracked by the University of Michigan edged down in September from the prior month by 1.8 points, mostly due to gloomier attitudes about the economy’s current situation.
—Bryan Mena, CNN, 15 Sep. 2023
Pressure was also coming from investors and Wall Street amid concerns that studios could post major losses due to the strike, which is biting into California’s economy overall.
—Erica Werner, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
The Galaxy have also won their past two meetings with LAFC and lead the series with nine wins overall.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
In the meantime, check out our current favorite Bose headphones, and our top headphones overall from any brand.
—Tim Gideon, PCMAG, 14 Sep. 2023
Friday and Saturday will offer a chance of isolated showers and thunderstorms, but a much lower chance overall.
—Kxas-Tv (nbc5), Dallas News, 14 Sep. 2023
Noun
Lambert is ranked No. 48 overall (No. 2 offensive tackle) in the 247Sports composite rankings for the 2024 class, and chose Notre Dame over Ohio State, Boston College and Harvard.
—Andrew Gillis, cleveland, 19 Sep. 2023
Kansas City has gone 28-47 in home games and 48-102 overall.
—Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 18 Sep. 2023
Two spots after Taylor Heise was chosen No. 1 overall by Minnesota, Boston selected Alina Mueller, the Huskies’ all-time leading scorer, with the third pick in the inaugural draft held in Toronto.
—Kat Cornetta, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Sep. 2023
The drums on this track benefit from a slightly enhanced thump, but generally, the lows sound quite natural overall.
—Joe Hindy, PCMAG, 18 Sep. 2023
But don’t overlook Frisco, which is the only 2-0 team in 6-5A Division I. Frisco (3-1 overall), which missed the playoffs last year, beat Frisco Centennial 42-0 as quarterback Cobyn Harbert accounted for three touchdowns and the defense allowed only 190 total yards.
—Greg Riddle, Dallas News, 16 Sep. 2023
McDonogh improved to 3-0 overall, while Spalding fell to 1-1-2.
—Glenn Graham, Baltimore Sun, 13 Sep. 2023
For a team ranked No. 1 overall on 247Sports’ talent composite, that’s not a good thing.
—Matt Stahl | Mstahl@al.com, al, 16 Sep. 2023
One Street Grandma piece, inspired by a vintage Champion tee from the 1970s, features a trompe l’oeil image of blue overalls over a capacious, heavyweight, white cotton tee.
—Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2023
Adjective
Even being outside and in nature has been found to improve overall well-being in people of all ages.12
Word games: Word games like crossword puzzles, Scrabble, hangman, Bananagrams, and Wordle all rely on memory and strategy which can improve cognition.
—Lauryn Higgins, Health, 27 Sep. 2023
That group, however, represented only 16.6% of the overall sample.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 26 Sep. 2023
In the end, the issues are interconnected and must work within an overall agreement that supports our mutual success.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2023
This award is not necessarily for the team supporting the biggest or top-selling tour of the year, but for the crew that has clearly demonstrated the most heart and spirit on the road, making the biggest overall contribution to elevating country music.
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 26 Sep. 2023
The Nepalese population saw a substantial uptick, the report said, with a 250% overall increase between 2010 and 2020.
—Sakshi Venkatraman, NBC News, 26 Sep. 2023
Wilson, the team’s second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is 8-16 in his 24 starts with New York over his young career.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 26 Sep. 2023
The efforts came under the belief that the market for podcast advertising—currently $2.3 billion—would end up being a bigger portion of the overall $200 billion digital-ad market, according to the Wall Street Journal.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2023
But overall customer satisfaction with the app dipped from 3.4 to 3.1 on a scale of 1 to 5, the study found.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overall.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing overall
Dictionary Entries Near overall
Cite this Entry
“Overall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overall. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
overall
1 of 2 adverb
over·all
ˌō-və-ˈrȯl
: as a whole : generally
we find your work satisfactory, overall
overall
2 of 2 adjectiveˌō-və-ˈrȯl,
ˈō-və-ˌrȯl
1
: including everything
overall expenses
2
: viewed as a whole : general
More from Merriam-Webster on overall
Nglish: Translation of overall for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of overall for Arabic Speakers
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