overlap

[ verb oh-ver-lap; noun oh-ver-lap ]
See synonyms for: overlapoverlappedoverlapping on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),o·ver·lapped, o·ver·lap·ping.
  1. to lap over (something else or each other); extend over and cover a part of; imbricate.

  2. to cover and extend beyond (something else): The ends of cloth overlap the table.

  1. to coincide in part with; have in common with: two lives that overlapped each other.

verb (used without object),o·ver·lapped, o·ver·lap·ping.
  1. to lap over: two sales territories that overlap; fields of knowledge that overlap.

noun
  1. an act or instance of overlapping.

  2. the extent or amount of overlapping: The second story of the building has an overlap of ten feet.

  1. an overlapping part.

  2. the place of overlapping.

  3. (in yacht racing) the position of two yachts side by side such that the overtaking boat, to pass the other on the opposite side, must fall back, or such that neither can turn toward the other without danger of collision.

Origin of overlap

1
First recorded in 1685–95; over- + lap2

Other words from overlap

  • non·o·ver·lap·ping, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use overlap in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for overlap

overlap

verb(ˌəʊvəˈlæp) -laps, -lapping or -lapped
  1. (of two things) to extend or lie partly over (each other)

  2. to cover and extend beyond (something)

  1. (intr) to coincide partly in time, subject, etc

noun(ˈəʊvəˌlæp)
  1. a part that overlaps or is overlapped

  2. the amount, length, etc, overlapping

  1. the act or fact of overlapping

  2. a place of overlapping

  3. geology the horizontal extension of the upper beds in a series of rock strata beyond the lower beds, usually caused by submergence of the land

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012