overshoot

verb

over·​shoot ˌō-vər-ˈshüt 

overshot ˌō-vər-ˈshät  ; overshooting

transitive verb

1

: to pass swiftly beyond

2

: to shoot or pass over or beyond so as to miss

overshoot

ˈō-vər-ˌshüt 

noun

Synonyms

• break
• exceed
• outreach
• outrun
• overpass
• overreach
• overrun
• overstep
• surpass
• transcend

Examples of overshoot in a Sentence

The plane overshot the runway.

Sometimes we overshoot our time limits.

Recent Examples on the Web

Yet highly active retail traders in aggregate are prone to herding and as a group fast-money amateurs can overshoot and make the tape more fragile at extremes. —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 1 Feb. 2025

The purpose of the pardon is to allow for a fudge when the legal system has misfired or overshot the mark. —Belinda Luscombe, TIME, 23 Jan. 2025

New York, Chicago and LA are all overshot at this point. —Lynette Rice, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2025

The Boeing 737-800 plane landed without its front landing gear deployed, overshot the runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into a fireball. —Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 31 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

overshoot

verb

over·​shoot ˌō-vər-ˈshüt 

overshot -ˈshät  ; overshooting

1

: to miss by going beyond

the plane overshot the runway

2

: to shoot over or beyond

overshot the target

Medical Definition

overshoot

noun

over·​shoot ˈō-vər-ˌshüt 

: a rapid change in electrical potential and reversal of polarity that occurs during an action potential when a cell or tissue is stimulated