Dictionary

overshoot en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈoʊ.vɚˌʃut/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈəʊ.və.ʃuːt/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English overshoten, oversheten (“to shoot beyond, shoot past, pour down from above”), perhaps continuing Old English ofersċēotan (“to shoot down”), equivalent to over- + shoot.

Meanings

1. (countable) The amount by which something goes too far.
   • Let's see if we can predict and correct for the overshoot.
2. (countable, uncountable) The situation where the population of a species exceeds its environment's carrying capacity.
   • With appropriate choice and action such uncontrolled decline could be avoided; overshoot could instead be resolved by a conscious effort to reduce humanity's demand on the planet. 2004, Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Dennis Meadows, “Author's preface”, in Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update, →ISBN:
   • Our core ecological problem is not climate change. It is overshoot, of which global warming is a symptom. 2017 August 14, Richard Heinberg, “Systemic Change Driven by Moral Awakening Is Our Only Hope”, in Ecowatch:
   • Population overshoot is therefore unlikely to yield to management. Rather, the usual suspects will enter the scene and do their thing: starvation, disease, […] violence […] [and] death […]. 2012, James Howard Kunstler, “Where We're at”, in Too Much Magic, →ISBN:
3. (countable, uncountable) The portion of a letter extending above the capline of other letters of the same font, or the relative degree of such extent.
   • The bowl of the D and the O are usually not identical, as most D forms do not have overshoot or undershoot. 2020, Karen Cheng, Designing Type, 2nd edition, page 88:
   • The portion resting beyond the capline or baseline is called overshoot. 2019, Reece Patton, Formatting for Print:

Forms

Translations (2)

hu túlfogyasztás (when the population of a species exceeds its environment's carrying capacity) · es sobrecarga (when the population of a species exceeds its environment's carrying capacity)

overshoot en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˌəʊ.vəˈʃuːt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˌoʊ.vɚˈʃut/ (General-American)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English overshoten, oversheten (“to shoot beyond, shoot past, pour down from above”), perhaps continuing Old English ofersċēotan (“to shoot down”), equivalent to over- + shoot.

Meanings

1. To go past something; to go too far.
   • A ScotRail Driver: […] A good friend of mine overshot two stations back-to-back a couple of years ago. He tried to stop at one station and slid by it. Tried to stop at the next station. He slid by that, too. 2021 December 15, Paul Clifton, “There is nothing you can do”, in RAIL, number 946, page 37:
   • As a result of the accident at Southend Airport when a Hermes aircraft overshot the runway and fouled the down Shenfield to Southend Victoria line between Rochford and Prittlewell, the Eastern Region is considering warning arrangements, which have already been provided on some lines running past aerodromes. 1961 November, “Talking of Trains: Aircraft on rail tracks”, in Trains Illustrated, page 650:
   • When you drive, you must remember to not overshoot the parking space and end up with two wheels over the line.
2. To shoot beyond; to shoot too far to hit something.
   • not to overshoot his game 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
3. To pass swiftly over; to fly beyond.
4. (figuratively) To exceed.
   • The amount a letter overshoots is based on the design, but your eye shouldn’t notice it. 2019, Reece Patton, Formatting for Print:
   • Measured this way humanity was last at sustainable levels in the 1980s. Now it has overshot by some 20 percent. 2004, Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers, Dennis Meadows, “Author's preface”, in Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update, →ISBN:
   • That fire abated that impells rash youth, Proud of his speed to overshoot the truth, 1782, William Cowper, “Conversation”, in Poems: by William Cowper, of the Inner Temple, Esq., →OCLC:
   • to overshoot the truth
5. (reflexive) To venture too far; to overreach (oneself).
6. To record too much photographic footage.

Forms

Deriveds

overshoot the mark · overshooter

Synonyms

overrun

Translations (5)

es pasársele la mano (to shoot beyond; to shoot too far to hit something) · hu túlfut (to go past something; to go too far) · hu túlszalad (to go past something; to go too far) · hu túllő (to shoot beyond; to shoot too far to hit something) · hu ellő fölötte (to shoot beyond; to shoot too far to hit something)