overcrowded

adjective

over·​crowd·​ed ˌō-vər-ˈkrau̇-dəd 

: crowded or filled to excess : having too many people or things

overcrowded streets/cities/classrooms

living in overcrowded conditions

… having an overcrowded space can make it hard for buyers to … visualize their own belongings in the space, said Los Angeles-based designer Francesca Grace.

—Jennifer Tzeses

… some 5 million workers commute for up to three hours on trains so overcrowded that there seem to be as many passengers hanging on to the outside of the carriages as there are inside.

—Ismail Merchant

Examples of overcrowded in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At the turn of the twentieth century, Progressive activists argued that orphanages—which were virtually all operated by religious charities—were heavily regimented, overcrowded spaces that isolated children from society and deprived them of the benefits of family care. —Kristen Martin, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025

Industrialization in the 1800s changed that, with the establishment of large urban parks in London, Paris, New York and San Francisco to offer a respite to overcrowded conditions. —Martha Ross, Mercury News, 22 Nov. 2025

In an overcrowded truck of migrant workers, Chandan develops a high fever and delirium. —Isadora Wandermurem, Time, 21 Nov. 2025

About a year ago, the Milwaukee School Board gave Carmen notice to move its south side schools out of overcrowded MPS buildings, which Carmen was sharing with other growing MPS schools. —Rory Linnane, jsonline.com, 20 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of overcrowd

First Known Use

1725, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for overcrowded

• clouded
• crowded
• shrouded
• enshrouded
• unclouded
• uncrowded