overwrite

verb

over·​write ˌō-vər-ˈrīt 

ˌō-və-

overwrote ˌō-vər-ˈrōt 

ˌō-və-

; overwritten ˌō-vər-ˈri-tᵊn 

ˌō-və-

; overwriting ˌō-vər-ˈrī-tiŋ 

ˌō-və-

transitive verb

1

: to write over the surface of

2

: to write in inflated or overly elaborate style

intransitive verb

: to write too much or in an overly elaborate style

Examples of overwrite in a Sentence

The author has a tendency to overwrite.

Recent Examples on the Web

That's because an executive action, on its own, can't undo or overwrite laws. —Camila Domonoske, NPR, 30 Jan. 2025

The impact and fall injured my leg and also broke my wearable computing system, which normally overwrites its memory buffers and doesn’t permanently record images. —IEEE Spectrum, 1 Mar. 2013

Runes in gear can now be overwritten by other Runes (the old Runes are destroyed). —Paul Tassi, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

Please note that restoring a backup might overwrite the existing data on your phone. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

overwrite

verb

over·​write ˌō-və(r)-ˈrīt 

overwrote -ˈrōt  ; overwritten -ˈrit-ᵊn  ; overwriting -ˈrīt-iŋ 

1

: to write over the surface of : write on top of

2

: to write too much or in an overly elaborate style

overwritten accounts of everyday events