oversupply

noun

over·​sup·​ply ˈō-vər-sə-ˌplī 

plural oversupplies

: an excessive supply : an amount of something (such as a good) that is more than is needed or wanted

… if there is an oversupply of herring on a given day, the shrewd fishmonger will lower his price …

—Robert Kuttner

Although this means better and cheaper jug wines for consumers, the 122,000 acres of wine grapes coming into production over the next three years could well lead to oversupplies.

—Daniel Sogg

an oversupply of applicants for the available jobs

Information is in oversupply, and the audience wants someone who can help make sense of it.

—Joanne Ostrow

Synonyms of oversupply

• surplus
• excess

Examples of oversupply in a Sentence

an oversupply of new homes is helping to drive down housing prices

Recent Examples on the Web

That trend could leave Miami with an oversupply of multifamily housing, which could drive rents down further. —Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026

But increasing capacity outside of China is compounding the existing issue of oversupply that spans the entire clean-tech value chain, with global manufacturing capacity now exceeding 200% of what is needed to meet demand. —Natasha Bracken, semafor.com, 28 May 2026

The bull case for Micron appears strong through 2027-2028, though future oversupply remains a potential risk. —Peter Cohan, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026

That has resulted in a temporary oversupply of apartments. —Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 18 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for oversupply

• acidify
• alveoli
• antinomy
• areolae
• demystify
• detoxify
• disqualify
• diversify
• electrify
• exemplify
• fasciculi
• identify

Kids Definition

oversupply

noun

over·​sup·​ply

-sə-ˈplī

: a supply that is too large : surplus