Overlay

/ˌəʊ.vəˈleɪ/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive) To lay, spread, or apply (something) over or across (something else); to overspread..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To lay, spread, or apply (something) over or across (something else); to overspread.
2. To overwhelm; to press excessively upon.
3. (transitive, now rare, archaic) To lie over (someone, especially a child) in order to smother it; to suffocate.
4. (transitive, printing) To put an overlay on.
5. (transitive, gambling) To bet too much money on.
6. (photography, graphic arts) An image to be overlaid on another; a superimposition or diapositive.
7. (printing) A piece of paper pasted upon the tympan sheet to improve the impression by making it stronger at a particular place.
8. (gambling) Odds which are set higher than expected or warranted. Favorable odds.

Example Sentences

Near-synonyms: cover, superimpose, superpose

She will now overlay the crust with fruit.

She will now overlay fruit on top of the crust.

For ſo exceeding ſhone his gliſtring ray, That Phœbus golden face it did attaint, As when a cloud his beames doth ouer-lay

By his preſcript a Sanctuary is fram'd Of Cedar, overlaid with Gold,

The hillside at this point is composed of shaly rock overlaid with a peaty loam which carries a growth of heather, and its unstable condition has resulted in two landslides in the course of the railway's history.

when any country is overlaid by the multitude which live upon it

And this womans childe died in the night: because she ouerlaid it.

Synonyms for overlay

Antonyms for overlay

Related Words

Word Forms

• overlays
• overlaying
• overlaid
• overlayed

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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