oversupply

1 of 2

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

oversupply

2 of 2

verb

over·​sup·​ply ˌō-vər-sə-ˈplī 

oversupplied; oversupplying

transitive verb

: to supply (something, such as a commodity) in excess

The OPEC nations have been oversupplying crude oil for more than two years, seemingly in an attempt to drive their main competitors—US shale oil and gas producers—out of business.

—Jackson Stiles

: to provide (someone or something) with more than is needed or wanted

manufacturers oversupplying the market

oversupplied adjective

… the inevitable result of spilling a million workers into an already oversupplied low-wage labor market …

—Jeff Faux

Synonyms of oversupply

Noun

• surplus
• excess

Examples of oversupply in a Sentence

Noun

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

While one resource was heavily in demand, the country had an oversupply of the other. — Robert Smith, NPR, 29 July 2026

Peter Oppenheimer, chief global equity strategist, and Guillaume Jaisson, senior global equity strategist at Goldman, said that the region's main challenge isn't corporate oversupply, but a lack of domestic equity inflows. — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 23 July 2026

Verb

That's often led to oversupply, followed by a collapse in prices. — Kif Leswing,katie Tarasov, CNBC, 9 July 2026

Longer-term effects also point to oversupply due to structural shots in both supply and demand. — George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1833, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1865, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing oversupply

• in oversupply

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