Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

overbear

/ˌoʊ.vɚˈbɛɹ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.35 in modern English

Syllables: over-bear
IPA: /ˌoʊ.vɚˈbɛɹ/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

Obsolete; Transitive verb

verb

To push through by physical weight or strength; to overwhelm, overcome.

Transitive verb

verb

To prevail over; to dominate, overpower; to oppress.

Transitive verb

verb

To produce an overabundance of fruit.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"I attacked first and they were overborne, / Glad to apologize and even suing / Pardon for what they'd never thought of doing."
"It often fals, in course of common life, / That right long time is overborne of wrong […]."

Etymology

From Middle English overberen; equivalent to over- + bear.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Prefix: over
Root: overberen

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌoʊ.vɚˈbɛɹ/
British English: /əʊvəˈbɛː/

Usage

Inflected Forms

overbears (present, singular) overbearing (participle, present) overbore (past) overborne (participle, past)

Derived Forms

overbearance overbearer overbearing

Synonyms

bear down

Questions

How do you pronounce overbear?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌoʊ.vɚˈbɛɹ/.
What does overbear mean?: To carry over.
Where does overbear come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce overbear

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “overbear”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌoʊ.vɚˈbɛɹ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “overbear”.
Repeat and practice — Say “overbear” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.