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overburden

 - 3 dictionary results
Overburden System
Symmetrix by Atlas Copco America West Drilling Supply
www.americawestdrillingsupply.com

o⋅ver⋅bur⋅den

  [v. oh-ver-bur-dn; n. oh-ver-bur-dn]
Use overburden in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to load with too great a burden; overload: He was overburdened with cares.
–noun
2. an excessive burden.
3. Also called burden, capping. Mining. waste earth and rock covering a mineral deposit.
Origin:
1570–80; over- + burden 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To overburden
Overburden System
Symmetrix by Atlas Copco America West Drilling Supply
www.americawestdrillingsupply.com
o·ver·bur·den   (ō'vər-bûr'dn)   
tr.v.   o·ver·bur·dened, o·ver·bur·den·ing, o·ver·bur·dens

  1. To burden with too much weight; overload.

  2. To subject to an excessive burden or strain; overtax.

n.   (ō'vər-bûr'dn)

  1. An excessive burden; an overload.

  2. Geology

    1. Material overlying a useful mineral deposit.

    2. Sedimentary rock covering older crystalline layers.

  3. Archaeology A sterile stratum overlying a stratum bearing traces of the culture being studied.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

overburden  (v.)
"to put too much weight on," 1532, from over + burden. Earliest uses are figurative.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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