Meaning

To knock over or overturn (someone or something); to capsize, to upset..

Definitions by Sense

1. To knock over or overturn (someone or something); to capsize, to upset.
2. To physically or mentally disturb (someone); to upset; specifically, to make (someone) ill, especially nauseous; to nauseate, to sicken.
3. To throw (something, such as an organization, a plan, etc.) into confusion or out of order; to subvert, to unsettle, to upset.
4. To translate (a text).
5. To set (copy or type) in excess of a given space.
6. To recover from (an illness).
7. To cover (the surface of something) with objects.
8. To oppress or overwhelm (someone, their thoughts, etc.); to beset; also, to overpower or overthrow (someone, an army, a people, etc.) by force; to defeat, to overwhelm.

Example Sentences

For ſtill thy eyes, vvhich I may call the ſea, / Do ebbe and flovve vvith teares, the Barke thy body is: / Sayling in this ſalt floud, the vvindes thy ſighes, / Who raging vvith thy teares and they vvith them, / VVithout a ſudden calme vvill ouerſet / Thy tempeſt toſſed body.

A great ſhip overſet, or vvithout faile / Hulling, might (vvhen this vvas a vvhelp) be like this vvhale.

Up, and with W. Hewer by hackney coach to White Hall, where the King and Duke of York is gone by three in the morning, and had the misfortune to be overset with the Duke of York, the Duke of Monmouth, and the Prince, at the King's Gate in Holborne; and the King all dirty, but no hurt.

VVe therefore truſted our ſelves to the Mercy of the VVaves, and in about half an hour the Boat vvas over-ſet by a ſudden Flurry from the North.

[T]he poſtilion, in turning too ſuddenly from the turnpike to the croſs-road, overſet the carriage.

A reef between them also now began / To show its boiling surf and bounding spray, / But finding no place for their landing better, / They ran the boat for shore, and overset her.

"Except when he overset the glass of wine at dinner," Miss Sharp said, with a haughty air and a toss of the head, "I never gave the existence of Captain Dobbin one single moment's consideration."

[…] Goodman Pumpkin-without-salt, nay, rather Melon-without-savour, wrote down divers foolish matters and peccadilloes that women use to commit, such as […] cursing the cat, when it oversetteth the pots, and the like of such trifles that skill not a straw; and when he had written what seemed to him fit, he gave the scroll to his wife.

Word Forms

• oversets
• oversetting
• overset
• no-table-tags
• glossary
• oversettest
• oversettedst
• oversetteth
• -
• over-set

Synonyms for overset

Related Words

When Should You Use Overset?

Use overset when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions