overcrowded

adjective

over·​crowd·​ed ˌō-vər-ˈkrau̇-dəd How to pronounce overcrowded (audio)
Synonyms of overcrowdednext
: 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Metropolitan Detention Center is dark, overcrowded and noisy, according to Elie Honig, a senior legal analyst for CNN, who has been inside the facility numerous times. Michael Rios, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026 Animal shelters in the Chicago area are expected to receive pets from overcrowded facilities in Los Angeles County, after a large-scale rescue operation in Lake Hughes seized hundreds of cats and dogs. Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026 Nothing might seem to have longer odds in deep-red Oklahoma than an effort to lessen punishments for violent crimes, but overcrowded prisons and rising costs were already forcing a rethinking of harsh, decades-old sentencing laws. Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026 On January 7, Saman wrote me that two of her Afghan neighbors had just been arrested and sent to a deportation camp that was rumored to be filthy, cold, and overcrowded. George Packer, The Atlantic, 24 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for overcrowded

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of overcrowd

First Known Use

1725, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overcrowded was in 1725

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Cite this Entry

“Overcrowded.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overcrowded. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.

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