overcapacity

noun

over·​ca·​pac·​i·​ty ˌō-vər-kə-ˈpa-sə-tē 

-ˈpa-stē

: excessive capacity for production or services in relation to demand

Examples of overcapacity in a Sentence

The airlines are lowering their prices because of an overcapacity of seats.

Recent Examples on the Web

That worsens overcapacity and deflation, while preventing that capital from going to healthier borrowers. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 11 May 2026

Lithium-ion costs have collapsed because of manufacturing overcapacity and slowing EV demand, not because grid storage economics improved. —Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2026

Hospitals across the Twin Cities already operate understaffed and overcapacity, according to the union. —Wcco Staff, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026

At the same time, the conflict is also likely to bolster demand for China’s world-leading green energy manufacturers as countries push to wean themselves off fossil fuel dependency, potentially alleviating a downward price spiral that recently pushed Beijing to curb solar overcapacity. —Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 20 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overcapacity

• audacity
• capacity
• fugacity
• loquacity
• mendacity
• opacity
• rapacity
• sagacity
• tenacity
• veracity
• vivacity
• voracity