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

Equipped with a 170-degree, ultra-wide angle and a 3-inch LCD screen, this dash camera has seamless loop recording and a collision-detecting emergency lock that saves the most recent footage leading up to a collision, preventing valuable footage from being overwritten by new footage. —Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 23 Oct. 2024

While the Terminator franchise canon is notoriously convoluted, this scenario illustrates a straightforward way to cut through the confusion: Each act of time travel creates a new timeline, overwriting every story that came before. —Gavia Baker-Whitelaw, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2024

That dropper had in some cases installed another malware weapon, which FireEye calls ShapeShift, designed to wipe target computers by overwriting every portion of a computer's hard drive with zeros. —Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 20 Sep. 2017

Investigators got the cockpit voice recorder from the Alaska Airlines jet, but the recorder on the Southwest plane was overwritten after the plane took off. —Shawn Tully, Fortune, 10 Oct. 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