overhunt

verb

over·​hunt ˌō-vər-ˈhənt 

overhunted; overhunting

transitive verb

1

: to hunt (animals) to an excessive and usually harmful degree

overhunted the local deer population

2

: to hunt (an area) excessively to the point that the kinds of animals hunted become scarce

overhunting certain regions of the country

overhunting

ˌō-vər-ˈhən-tiŋ 

noun

Overhunting ranks as a major problem for a third of the mammals and birds threatened with extinction …

—Susan Milius

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined at sense 1