overweight

1 of 3

noun

over·​weight ˈō-vər-ˌwāt 

sense 2 is usually

ˌō-vər-ˈwāt 

1

: weight over and above what is required or allowed

2

: excessive or burdensome weight

overweight

2 of 3

verb

over·​weight ˌō-vər-ˈwāt 

overweighted; overweighting; overweights

transitive verb

1

: to give too much weight or consideration to

2

: to weight excessively

overweight

3 of 3

adjective

over·​weight ˌō-vər-ˈwāt 

: exceeding expected, normal, or proper weight

especially : exceeding the bodily weight normal for one's age, height, and build

Synonyms

Adjective

• blubbery
• chubby
• corpulent
• fat
• fleshy
• full
• gross
• lardy
• obese
• plump
• podgy [chiefly British]
• portly
• pudgy
• replete
• roly-poly
• rotund
• round
• tubby

Examples of overweight in a Sentence

Adjective

He looked to be at least 20 pounds overweight.

an overweight person who had difficulty running even a short distance

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

JPMorgan reiterates Netflix as overweight The firm lowered its price target to $1,000 from $1,101 ahead of earnings later this month. —Michael Bloom, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2025

Investment Diversification As the table shows below, the extreme overweight in Tesla seen with some funds is not mirrored in SpaceX investments. —Joel Shulman, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025

Verb

Citi upgraded shares to buy from neutral, while Wells Fargo raised its rating to overweight from equal weight. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2025

The strategists also raised Hong Kong to overweight from neutral, while downgrading India to neutral. —Chloe Berger, Fortune Asia, 9 Jan. 2025

Adjective

Surveys show that Americans want to eat healthier, but the fact that more than 70 percent of U.S. adults are overweight underscores just how many of us fail. —Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2025

The Roper report notes that the public was slow to recognize other health risks of being overweight. —Karlyn Bowman, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1621, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

overweight

1 of 2 noun

over·​weight ˈō-vər-ˌwāt 

 sense 2 is usually  ˌō-vər-ˈwāt

1

: weight above what is required or allowed

2

: excessive or burdensome weight

overweight

2 of 2 adjective

over·​weight ˌō-vər-ˈwāt 

: being more than the expected, normal, or proper weight

especially : having greater than normal bodily weight for one's age, height, and build

Medical Definition

overweight

adjective

over·​weight -ˈwāt 

: weighing in excess of the normal for one's age, height, and build

overweight adolescents

overweight adults typically have a body mass index of 25 to 29.9

overweight noun