Standard Lemma guide

overdraft

noun · verb · 7 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈəʊvədɹɑːft/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: ō'vərdrăft
  • US: /ˈoʊvɚdɹæft/
  • homophone: overdraught
  • CMU ARPABET: OW1 V ER0 D R AE2 F T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of overdrawing a bank account.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The amount overdrawn.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Examples

  • I have an overdraft of £1234.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The maximum amount that may be overdrawn.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Examples

  • The bank have given me an overdraft of $2000.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The extraction of groundwater from an aquifer beyond the safe yield or equilibrium yield.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A series of flues in a furnace; the current of air forced through them.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To extract groundwater from (an aquifer) beyond the safe yield or equilibrium yield.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

a draft in excess of the credit balance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: draft, bill of exchange, order of payment

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- English draft English overdraft From over- + draft.

Across languages

Translations

39 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: овърдрафт (ovǎrdraft) — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Bulgarian: превишаване на лимита (previšavane na limita) — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Chinese Cantonese: 透支 (tau3 zi1) — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Chinese: 透支 (thàu-chi) — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Chinese Mandarin: 透支 (tòuzhī) — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Finnish: tilinylitys — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • French: découvert — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • German: Überziehung — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Greek: υπερανάληψη (yperanálipsi) — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Hungarian: hiteltúllépés — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Icelandic: yfirdráttur — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Italian: scoperto — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Japanese: 超過引き出し (chōka hikidashi) — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Kazakh: овердрафт (overdraft) — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Malay: overdraf — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Māori: tarepatanga — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Norwegian: overtrekk — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Portuguese: saque a descoberto — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Serbo-Croatian: ulazak u minus — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Serbo-Croatian: prekoračenje po računu — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Spanish: sobregiro — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Swedish: övertrassering — act of overdrawing a bank account
  • Finnish: tilinylitys — amount overdrawn
  • French: découvert — amount overdrawn
  • German: Dispositionskredit — amount overdrawn
  • German: Überziehungskredit — amount overdrawn
  • Māori: tarepa — amount overdrawn
  • Māori: moni tarepa — amount overdrawn
  • Māori: kaute tarepa — amount overdrawn
  • Serbo-Croatian: prekoračenje — amount overdrawn
  • Serbo-Croatian: minus — amount overdrawn
  • Swedish: övertrassering — amount overdrawn
  • Finnish: luottoraja — maximum amount that may be overdrawn
  • German: Dispositionsrahmen — maximum amount that may be overdrawn
  • German: Überziehungsgrenze — maximum amount that may be overdrawn
  • Greek: όριο υπερανάληψης (ório yperanálipsis) — maximum amount that may be overdrawn
  • Serbo-Croatian: dopušteno prekoračenje po računu — maximum amount that may be overdrawn
  • Slovene: limit — maximum amount that may be overdrawn
  • Bulgarian: вдухване отгоре (vduhvane otgore) — series of flues in a furnace