overlaying 1 of 3

Definition of overlayingnext

overlaying

2 of 3

noun

overlaying

3 of 3

verb

present participle of overlay
1
2
as in overlapping
to lie over parts of one another cedar shingles overlaying one another on the roof

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of overlaying
Verb
As music played in the background, overlaying captions appeared on screen beside Bader, 30, who underwent bariatric surgery in December 2023. Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026 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 In Texas, overlaying precincts with current and proposed maps shows how elections could unfold. Ramon Padilla, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025 The Quantum Internet will not replace the classical Internet but augment it, overlaying quantum signals with classical bits. Mallik Tatipamula, IEEE Spectrum, 27 Oct. 2025 Podlesí is notorious for its boring atmosphere, overlaying everything like a thick blanket. Zuzana Říhová, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025 Last year at Connect, Meta unveiled its Orion glasses, which are a prototype capable of overlaying complex 3D visuals onto the physical world. Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 20 Sep. 2025 The pins appear to march through the entire valley, overlaying each other and clustering at the locations of ranches and farms. Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2025 At its core, Caption with Intention is a novel captioning design system which aims to significantly augment several critical points of failure within traditional captioning by overlaying animation, color and variable typography to bring the text to life. Gus Alexiou, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overlaying
Adjective
  • But the use of chatbots — the same underlying technology that billions use for mundane tasks like writing emails — is now being used on the battlefield.
    Parmy Olson, Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Companies like Strategy further amplify these dynamics by layering leverage on top of already volatile underlying assets.
    Mariana Trujillo, Oc Register, 6 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The sauce hit that comforting sweet spot of salty and gooey, coating each noodle with a subtle nutty note that blander versions lacked.
    Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Mar. 2026
  • Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil to the bowl and stir in the carrots, coating them well.
    Mary Ann Esposito, Boston Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Chitons belong to the class Polyplacophora, a group of marine mollusks — distant relatives of snails, clams, and octopuses — distinguished by a series of overlapping shell plates running down their backs.
    Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Chitons are distant relatives of snails, clams, and octopuses, distinguished by overlapping shell plates running down their backs.
    Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The trumpet creeper climbs by aerial roots to heights of 30 to 40 feet and will grow in the most challenging spots, covering an ugly wall, fence, or other structure in one growing season.
    Zoe Gowen, Southern Living, 8 Mar. 2026
  • Taking a job with the post office to support his growing family, Mosley in the 1950s worked side gigs writing for the Pittsburgh Courier and for the magazines Ebony, Sepia, and Jet, covering jazz and sports.
    News Desk, Artforum, 8 Mar. 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
  • However, those sea surface temperatures will be far warmer than the overlying air temperatures.
    Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Overlaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overlaying. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.

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