overload
gb/ˈoʊvɚlˌoʊd/ us/ˈoʊvɚlˌoʊd/
B2
English
~ 7200
Senses
0 senses
Verb
B2
action
1
to give more than can be handled
to give a person or system more work, information, or other things than they can deal with
Usage pattern:
to overload [someone/something] (with [something])
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "overload" with "overwork". "Overload" means giving too much work, information, or demand to someone or something. "Overwork" usually means making someone work too many hours or working too much yourself. Also, learners may forget the preposition "with" in patterns like "overload someone with work".
Synonyms
overwhelm (Often implies a strong emotional effect, while "overload" focuses more on the amount or capacity.)
|
overburden (Sounds slightly more formal and usually refers to people rather than machines or systems.)
Antonyms
lighten (Means to reduce the amount of work or pressure, making the load easier to handle.)
|
limit (Focuses on keeping the amount of work or demand from becoming too high.)
Collocations
overload staff
|overload the system
|overload students with homework
|overload the server
|overload workers
|overload customers with emails
Themes
work
|technology
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Please don’t overload the team with last‑minute requests.
- The website kept crashing because too many users overloaded the server.
- Teachers shouldn’t overload students with homework every night.
- Try not to overload your schedule with back‑to‑back meetings.
- The charity hotline was overloaded with calls after the TV appeal.
Learner examples
- My boss often overloads me with extra work.
- The teacher overloaded us with tests this week.
- Too many people overloaded the small internet server.
- Do not overload your day with many plans.
- I feel overloaded with emails every morning.
Noun
B2
state
2
state of having too much to handle
a situation where there is too much work, information, or other things for someone or something to deal with
Usage pattern:
[type of] overload
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say "an overload of works" when they mean "an overload of work" (uncountable). Use uncountable nouns like "work" or countable ones like "tasks": "an overload of work" or "an overload of tasks".
Synonyms
overwork (Usually refers specifically to having too much work, while "overload" can involve work, information, or sensory input.)
|
excess (A more general word for "too much", without the idea of capacity being exceeded as clearly as in "overload".)
Antonyms
balance (Suggests a healthy or manageable level of work or information, the opposite of overload.)
|
manageable workload (Describes a level of work that can be handled comfortably, unlike an overload.)
Collocations
information overload
|sensory overload
|work overload
|data overload
|mental overload
|reduce overload
Themes
work
|psychology
|technology
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Many employees are suffering from work overload and stress.
- Social media can easily lead to information overload.
- The busy street was a sensory overload for the child.
- We need to find ways to reduce mental overload in the office.
- Data overload makes it hard to see what really matters.
Learner examples
- Too many emails give me overload at work.
- He left his job because of work overload.
- I feel overload when many people talk at the same time.
- Students often have overload during exams.
- Information overload makes it hard to choose.
Verb
B2
action
3
to put too much weight or power on
to put too many things into or onto something, or use too much power, so that it is not safe or may stop working
Usage pattern:
to overload [a machine/container/circuit] (with [something])
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use only "load" when they mean "overload" in safety warnings. "Load" is neutral, but "overload" clearly says it is too much and can be dangerous.
Synonyms
overfill (Focuses on putting too much into a container, without always implying damage or danger as strongly as "overload".)
|
overburden (Can be used for physical loads, but sounds slightly more formal and is also used for people or organizations.)
Antonyms
underload (Less common in everyday speech, but in technical contexts it means using less than the designed capacity, the opposite of overload.)
Collocations
overload a socket
|overload the washing machine
|overload the truck
|overload the circuit
|overload the power strip
|overload the system electrically
Themes
home
|technology
|safety
|science
Examples
- Don’t overload the washing machine or it might break.
- They overloaded the truck with sand, making it unsafe to drive.
- Be careful not to overload that power strip with too many devices.
- He overloaded the circuit by running the heater and the microwave together.
- The elevator can carry eight people, so let’s not overload it.
Learner examples
- Do not overload the small table with heavy boxes.
- She overloaded the car with luggage.
- You can start a fire if you overload that plug.
- The boat sank because they overloaded it with people.
- He overloaded the power strip and it stopped working.
Noun
technical
C1
state
4
too much current or weight
a situation where a machine, circuit, or structure has too much power or weight on it
Usage pattern:
[electrical/structural] overload
Synonyms
overcapacity (A more general technical term for being above capacity; "overload" more strongly suggests risk or failure.)
Antonyms
normal load (Refers to the usual or safe amount of current or weight, in contrast with an overload.)
Collocations
electrical overload
|current overload
|circuit overload
|structural overload
|protect against overload
|overload protection
Themes
engineering
|technology
|safety
|science
Examples
- The fuse blew due to an electrical overload.
- Engineers added safeguards to prevent structural overload during storms.
- The device shuts down automatically in case of overload.
- An overload in one circuit can trigger the whole system to fail.
- Overload protection is built into most modern power strips.
Learner examples
- The lights went out because of an electrical overload.
- This machine stops when there is an overload.
- The bridge broke after many years of overload.
- A fuse protects the house from overload.
- The engineer checked the system for overload.
Verb
technical
C1
action
5
in programming, give one name many signatures
in computer programming, to create more than one function or operator with the same name but different inputs
Usage pattern:
to overload [a function/operator/method]
Common mistake:
New programmers often confuse "overload" with "override". "Overload" means several functions with the same name but different parameters. "Override" means changing a method that comes from a parent class.
Synonyms
override (Often confused in programming; "override" replaces a parent definition in a subclass, while "overload" adds a new version with different parameters.)
Antonyms
define separately (Describes using different names for each function instead of overloading one name.)
Collocations
overload a function
|overload an operator
|method overloading
|overload constructors
|overload the plus operator
Themes
computing
|technology
|education
Examples
- In this class we overload the constructor to accept different argument lists.
- You can overload the plus operator to work with your custom type.
- The library overloads the "print" function for several data types.
- Be careful not to overload methods in a way that confuses users of the API.
- They decided not to overload the function to keep the interface simple.
Learner examples
- In Java, you can overload a method with different parameters.
- The teacher showed us how to overload the add function.
- We overload this function so it can take text or numbers.
- You should not overload every method, or the code is hard to read.
- I learned how to overload operators in C++.
Noun
technical
C2
entity
6
programming feature of multiple same-name functions
in programming, the situation where one name is used for several functions or operators that take different inputs
Usage pattern:
[operator/function/method] overload
Synonyms
overloading (The gerund form is often used instead of the noun "overload" in programming texts.)
Antonyms
single definition (Refers to only one function or operator definition per name, unlike an overload.)
Collocations
function overload
|operator overload
|method overload
|resolve an overload
|overload resolution
Themes
computing
|technology
|education
Examples
- The compiler chooses the correct overload based on the argument types.
- This class has an overload for the plus operator that adds two vectors.
- Ambiguous calls can occur when the overload is not clearly defined.
- They removed one overload to simplify the API.
- Good documentation is important when a library offers many overloads.
Learner examples
- The program picks the right overload when you call the function.
- This method has only one overload in the new version.
- Too many overloads can make the code hard to understand.
- We added an overload to handle lists.
- The book explains how the compiler chooses an overload.
Grammar
Dictionary form
overload
IPA
GB/ˈoʊvɚlˌoʊd/
US/ˈoʊvɚlˌoʊd/
Syllables & stress
over - load (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (over)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: overload
- Plural: overload, overloads
Verb
- Base: overload
- 3rd Person Singular: overloads
- Present Participle: overloading
- Past: overloaded
Word family
Forms
overloads
noun
overloading
verb
overloaded
verb
Expressions
on overload
1/ˈɔn ˈoʊvɚlˌoʊd/
fixed phrase
informal
in a state of having too much to process
feeling that your mind, emotions, or senses have too much to deal with at one time
Examples
- By the end of the meeting my brain was on overload.
- Her emotions were on overload after the long, stressful day.
- The kids were on overload from sugar and excitement after the party.
overload on
1/ˈoʊvɚlˌoʊd ˈɔn/
phrasal verb
informal
take in too much of something
to have or eat too much of something, so that it is not good or feels bad
Examples
- The kids overloaded on candy at the festival.
- Try not to overload on caffeine during exams.
- I overloaded on social media and needed a weekend offline.
overload the system
1/ˈoʊvɚlˌoʊd ðə sˈɪstəm/
fixed phrase
put too much demand on a system
to put so many users, tasks, or requests on a system that it cannot work well
Examples
- Too many login attempts at once can overload the system.
- They don’t want to overload the system by sending all the data at the same time.
- If we launch the sale at noon, we might overload the system with traffic.
work overload
1/wˈɚk ˈoʊvɚlˌoʊd/
fixed phrase
having more work than you can handle
a situation where you have too much work to do in the time you have
Examples
- Work overload is a major cause of burnout in many companies.
- The manager is trying to reduce work overload by hiring more staff.
- He took time off because of stress from work overload.
information overload
1/ˌɪnfɔɹmˈeɪʃən ˈoʊvɚlˌoʊd/
fixed phrase
Too much information to handle easily
When there is so much information that it becomes hard to understand or decide what to do.
Examples
- With so many emails and messages, I feel like I have information overload.
- With so many news websites, it’s easy to feel information overload.
- The internet can cause information overload if you are not careful.
- The report tries to be simple to avoid information overload for managers.
- Students often experience information overload during exam season.
sensory overload
1/sˈɛnsɚi ˈoʊvɚlˌoʊd/
fixed phrase
too much sensory stimulation
A feeling of stress when there is too much light, sound, or other things for your senses, so you cannot process them calmly.
Examples
- He left the concert early because the loud music and flashing lights caused sensory overload.
- The busy market was sensory overload for the baby.
- Busy supermarkets can create sensory overload for some autistic people.
- Bright lights and loud music can cause sensory overload in some people.
- After hours in the crowded mall, she felt close to sensory overload.
- After an hour in the arcade, I felt sensory overload and needed some quiet.