Standard Lemma guide

overbook

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • CMU ARPABET: OW1 V ER0 B UH2 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To sell or guarantee more seats for (an event) than actually exist.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Old English ofer- Middle English over- English over- Proto-Indo-European *bheh2ǵosder.? Proto-Indo-European *bheh2g-der.? Proto-Germanic *bōks Proto-West Germanic *bōk Old English bōc Middle English bok English book English overbook From over- + book.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: overbooker — to sell inexistant seats
  • Portuguese: superlotar — to sell inexistant seats
  • Spanish: overbuquear — to sell inexistant seats
  • Spanish: sobrevender — to sell inexistant seats
  • Spanish: sobrellenar — to sell inexistant seats
  • Walloon: sorbouker — to sell inexistant seats
  • Walloon: sorrezierver — to sell inexistant seats
  • Walloon: sorritni — to sell inexistant seats