overshoot

verb

over·​shoot ˌō-vər-ˈshüt 

overshot ˌō-vər-ˈshät  ; overshooting

transitive verb

1

: to pass swiftly beyond

2

: to shoot or pass over or beyond so as to miss

overshoot

ˈō-vər-ˌshüt 

noun

Synonyms

• exceed
• surpass

Examples of overshoot in a Sentence

The plane overshot the runway.

Sometimes we overshoot our time limits.

Recent Examples on the Web

When mixed together, the FDA’s math simply doesn’t add up—total exposure can easily overshoot the safety threshold. —Sally Pipes, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025

After months of questions about whether major tech firms were overshooting AI spending, Google, Microsoft and Meta are taking a victory lap after outperforming investors’ lofty expectations. —Julia Shapero, The Hill, 4 Aug. 2025

These zones are meant to stop planes that overshoot the runway. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 19 July 2025

The attorneys maintained the prosecution had overshot the mark. —Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 2 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for overshoot

• absolute
• arrowroot
• attribute
• bitterroot
• constitute
• convolute
• destitute
• disrepute
• dissolute
• execute
• institute
• involute

Kids Definition

overshoot

verb

over·​shoot ˌō-vər-ˈshüt 

overshot -ˈshät  ; overshooting

1

: to miss by going beyond

the plane overshot the runway

2

: to shoot over or beyond

overshot the target

Medical Definition

overshoot

noun

over·​shoot ˈō-vər-ˌshüt 

: a rapid change in electrical potential and reversal of polarity that occurs during an action potential when a cell or tissue is stimulated