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 of overshoot

• exceed
• surpass

Examples of overshoot in a Sentence

The plane overshot the runway.

Sometimes we overshoot our time limits.

Recent Examples on the Web

The workers were traveling back to their office after delivering crude oil and other supplies in a farming village in Negros Oriental province when their truck overshot the road and fell into a 100-f00t-deep ravine, police said. —Arkansas Online, 5 Feb. 2026

This means not undershooting to the point of looking apathetic and not overshooting to the point of looking threatening. —Gorick Ng, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2026

Stroud also overshot a wide-open Collins late in the first half — a completion would have set up Houston for points. —Mike Defabo, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026

Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told the BBC there are times when the tech industry has overshot. —The Los Angeles Times, Boston Herald, 22 Nov. 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