Synonyms of overlay

overlay

verb

ˌō-vər-ˈlā 

1

as in to coat

to form a layer over

you should apply a coat of primer first, and then overlay it with two coats of paint

Synonyms & Similar Words

• coat
• cover
• sheet
• blanket
• carpet
• overlie
• wrap
• overspread
• envelop
• veil
• curtain
• circle
• encircle
• enclose
• mantle
• cloak
• shroud
• shawl
• swathe
• enshroud
• encompass
• clothe
• enrobe
• enswathe
• enwrap

2

as in to overlap

to lie over parts of one another

cedar shingles overlaying one another on the roof

Synonyms & Similar Words

• overlap
• overlie
• overspread
• lap
• shingle

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of overlay

The chart below shows an overlay of the Fed funds policy rate in orange overlaid with the short duration 2 year Treasury yield in blue. — Todd Gordon, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2026

Other scammers take videos and photos from real practicing attorneys and overlay different audio to trick immigrants into sending them money. — Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2026

His team spent about a month overlaying influenza trends on card spending, hunting for spikes at drugstores, and found a relationship that was never clean enough to use. — John Drake, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

In novels such as Thousand Cranes and The Master of Go, Yasunari Kawabata wedded stream-of-consciousness to classical forms of ritual and performance, modeling rapid Japanese westernization through stories that overlay the ancient and the modern. — Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026