Thesaurus results for OVERREACH

overreach

verb

ˌō-vər-ˈrēch

Definition of overreach

as in to defeat

to get the better of through cleverness a real estate developer who is always trying to overreach his competitors, fair means or foul

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in to exceed

to go beyond the limit of the mountain climbers overreached their abilities and paid for it dearly

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 overreach Now, who can stop the president from overreaching? — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026 Criticizing the Legislature has become a common theme among local governments, such as Boise and Meridian, who have often complained that state lawmakers overreach and step on local control. — Idaho Statesman, 15 June 2026 During the McCarthy era, overreaching laws, surveillance, and public and private sector reprisals ostensibly targeted alleged communists. — Bruce Schneier, The Conversation, 27 May 2026 At some point, the bracket creep is going to overreach into the point of diminishing marginal returns — dulling regular seasons and perhaps ultimately even eventually interest in the postseasons. — Kansas City Star, 24 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for overreach

Recent Examples of Synonyms for overreach

Verb

Martínez was a headache to both pitchers, hitting a grand slam against Sandlin and finishing with a career-high six RBIs as the Guardians defeated the Sox 8-2.

— LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2026
But the technology for defeating ballistic missiles has advanced significantly since the Cold War.

— Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of defeat

Verb

Denker said that 288,000 free tickets were requested through a lottery system — exceeding the 130,000 spectators whom organizers plan to host on each of the event's two days.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
Kalshi's counsel will note the number exceeds the entire US gaming industry's annual revenue, which is presumably the point.

— Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of exceed

Verb

Gilligan’s Island, American television sitcom about a group of castaways on a desert island and the chaos that ensues as their attempts at rescue are constantly thwarted.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2026
Recyclers have been thwarted by PVC’s chemical architecture, specifically its heavy chlorine content and dense cocktail of additives, which make melting and mechanical reprocessing almost impossible.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of thwart

Verb

To get there, oil may need to surpass $150 – well beyond its all-time high.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026
The addition of Skubal further safeguards them at a time when Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are working their way back from injuries and Justin Wrobleski has already surpassed his career high in innings.

— Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of surpass

Verb

That March, Stewart was convicted of conspiring with her Merrill Lynch stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, to deceive authorities probing her December 2001 sale of the ImClone stock.

— Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 2026
The task force suggests that altering the physical environment, such as putting up nets, barriers to force drones into different flight paths, and making one’s surroundings appear uninteresting from the air can deceive drones.

— Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026

Definition of deceive

Verb

For more than a decade, India’s leader Narendra Modi has seemed politically unassailable, presiding over a government that has outmaneuvered opponents, dominated public discourse and squeezed the space for dissent in the world’s biggest democracy.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 28 July 2026
But while in theory, a superhuman AI system might outmaneuver even the most secure containers, there are also actions AI companies could take right now to improve security.

— Harry Booth, Time, 24 July 2026

Definition of outmaneuver

Verb

Buechler emphasizes that these visionaries, fueled by a deep sense of what's best for the world, are impossible to outsmart or outlast.

— Christine Haughney Dare-Bryan, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
This disease did not retreat because the bacterium weakened or because humanity outsmarted it.

— Katrine L. Wallace, The Conversation, 29 July 2026

Definition of outsmart

Browse Nearby Words

overrating

overreach

overreached

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Style

“Overreach.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overreach. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of overreach

verb

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