verb
Meaning 1
To protect to an excessive degree; to coddle
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
overprotect
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: OW2 V ER0 P R AH0 T EH1 K T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
verb
Meaning 2
protect excessively
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- Don't overprotect your son--he is an adult now!
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: protect
verb
Meaning 3
care for like a mother
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- She fusses over her husband
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: mother, fuss
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: care, give care
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 protect English overprotect From over- + protect.
Across languages
Translations
8 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Catalan: sobreprotegir — Protect to an excessive degree
- French: surprotéger — Protect to an excessive degree
- French: hyperprotéger — Protect to an excessive degree
- Galician: sobreprotexer — Protect to an excessive degree
- German: überbehüten — Protect to an excessive degree
- Portuguese: superproteger — Protect to an excessive degree
- Spanish: sobreproteger — Protect to an excessive degree
- Spanish: hiperproteger — Protect to an excessive degree