Dictionary

overspecify en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˌoʊvɚˈspɛsɪˌfaɪ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Old English ofer- Middle English over- English over- English specify English overspecify From over- + specify.

Meanings

1. To specify in excessive detail.
   • Manufacturers of sponge-rubber products have noted a tendency for designers and other users to overspecify. 1949, “Sponge Rubber”, in Walter E. Burton, editor, Engineering with Rubber, 1st edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, page 389:
   • First, the study group discovered a tendency in the current system to overspecify a billet. For example, to write a billet for a laboratory technician, one could specify rate and rating, as an HM1, one could specify E-6 and NEC-8506, or one could specify both. Obviously, this sort of procedure creates distribution problems which could compound. 1975, John Whittet, “We Need NEOCS”, in All Hands, number 698, page 50:
   • The customer overspecified the requirements and now we're contractually required to build it this way. Does he think he's an engineer?
2. To specify excessive capability.
   • As usual the customer overspecified the requirements, it's like asking for a car that seats 20 and fits in a compact car's parking space.
   • Design your mobile water supply apparatus around the chassis that you intend to use. Don’t overspecify or underspecify the unit. 1991 April 1, Gene P. Carlson, “NFPA 1903: Mobile Water Supply Apparatus”, in Fire Engineering:
3. To provide redundant or inconsistent information.
   • A noun phrase is overspecified when it is used in a context where a pronoun would have been unambiguous.
   • An overspecified truth table contains at least one decision that will never be executed because it is already specified in a previous decision...

Forms

Antonyms

underspecify (antonym(s) of “specify in excessive detail”)

Relateds

overspecification