as in intersecting
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as in overlying
to lie over parts of one another
the brochures on the display table should overlap but not so much that the titles are obscured
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Recent Examples of overlapping
Maria Balaska, Time, 20 Dec. 2025
Clara Ludmir, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
The proposal cited two reports that bemoaned the multiple, often overlapping and sometimes competitive, state and local entities that govern the schools.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf Two classics of dysfunctional domestic drama by Yasmina Reza and Edward Albee, respectively, are presented in repertory with overlapping casts.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2026
But for women in midlife, those symptoms can feel even more intense–or more confusing–as hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause take center stage, overlapping with lupus flares.
—Jennifer Shanker, Flow Space, 21 Jan. 2026
The shoes are made from see-through mesh and suede in Espresso brown, offering textural intrigue to a silhouette featuring slender ankle straps and overlapping toe straps.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 21 Jan. 2026
But how bats can tell which echo to follow while flitting around in a sea of overlapping and competing signals pinging off the myriad surfaces in their environments has been a mystery—until now.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 20 Jan. 2026
Kyle Chan, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who researches China’s industrial progress, says that the country’s overlapping industries — EVs, robotics, batteries, AI — create a mutually reinforcing feedback loop.
—Andy Browne, semafor.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Rikers is a problem that might really not have a solution rooted in local control, mired as that control is in overlapping political, contractual and labor considerations.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2026
Adjective
In the 1800s, for example, the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel used the term Zeitgeist—the spirit of times—to refer to such ubiquitous and overlapping influences that operate across both macro and micro levels.
—Maria Balaska, Time, 20 Dec. 2025
Verb
Over time, beauty and wellness have become increasingly intertwined, evolving into complementary and overlapping categories.
—Clara Ludmir, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
The proposal cited two reports that bemoaned the multiple, often overlapping and sometimes competitive, state and local entities that govern the schools.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf Two classics of dysfunctional domestic drama by Yasmina Reza and Edward Albee, respectively, are presented in repertory with overlapping casts.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2026
But for women in midlife, those symptoms can feel even more intense–or more confusing–as hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause take center stage, overlapping with lupus flares.
—Jennifer Shanker, Flow Space, 21 Jan. 2026
The shoes are made from see-through mesh and suede in Espresso brown, offering textural intrigue to a silhouette featuring slender ankle straps and overlapping toe straps.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 21 Jan. 2026
But how bats can tell which echo to follow while flitting around in a sea of overlapping and competing signals pinging off the myriad surfaces in their environments has been a mystery—until now.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 20 Jan. 2026
Kyle Chan, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who researches China’s industrial progress, says that the country’s overlapping industries — EVs, robotics, batteries, AI — create a mutually reinforcing feedback loop.
—Andy Browne, semafor.com, 19 Jan. 2026
Rikers is a problem that might really not have a solution rooted in local control, mired as that control is in overlapping political, contractual and labor considerations.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 18 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overlapping
Adjective
-
Turned to music, his body emerges from the ditch and now the dust is beautiful, a labyrinth of intersecting crossroads.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The alliance is the latest way health care and artificial intelligence are rapidly intersecting.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But clever techniques can work around this limitation, including adaptive optics, which rapidly reshapes a mirror in the telescope to counter the motion of overlying air.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
27 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Across three conversations with leaders working in human rights, social innovation, and critical infrastructure, the underlying premise was clear.—
Monica Sanders,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
-
The underlying allegations of this investigation are particularly fraught with danger for the state police and its leadership.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In winter, the frothy surf turns to soft, lapping waves and camels lumber down the mountain for a dip.—
Anna Zacharias,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 Jan. 2026
-
The Kohala Coast is living proof that nature is medicine, from the birdsong to the Tradewinds rustling the coconut palms to the deep blue-green waters of the Pacific lapping the shoreline.—
Everett Potter,
Forbes.com,
18 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Again, the superposed vector can be decomposed into its constituents.—
Anil Ananthaswamy,
Quanta Magazine,
13 Apr. 2023
-
Like entanglement, the superposed states essential to its power are fragile, collapsing when measured or otherwise perturbed by the outside world.—
Gabriel Popkin,
Science | AAAS,
3 June 2021
Verb
-
Trying to tap the ice sheet, which covers 80 percent of Greenland, for minerals is unappealing, given that all the necessary supplies would need to be brought inland by helicopter and there are kilometers of ice overlaying parts of the rock.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
23 Jan. 2026
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The only thing Bloom didn't show on camera were the stocks her husband, David Pownall, purchased for her, as the content creator noted in overlaying text at the beginning of the video.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
26 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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For Conway Morris, human-level intelligence is a convergent trait that might well appear again given the right conditions.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Reverse faults, found at convergent boundaries, are responsible for the most powerful quakes—megathrust events—often exceeding magnitude eight and accounting for the majority of global seismic energy release.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overlapping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overlapping. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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