overkill
/ˈoʊ.vɚˌkɪl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.98 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemy; especially with nuclear weapons.
Uncountable
verb
To dispose of too many items because of too-high criteria of inspection.
Example Sentences
- "[The] increase in nuclear missiles available to the West was operationally unnecessary and would only add to the existing nuclear overkill; mixed manning was a formula for military disaster; […]"
- "Bodies that have been stabbed or shot multiple times—far beyond what was sufficient to kill the victim (overkill)— suggest that the victim and assailant knew each other, […]"
- "For some killers with a great deal of love/hate for their victims, it [an edged weapon] is the perfect instrument for a maniacal overkill."
- ""Trans people generally don't get stabbed once; they get stabbed 20 times, shot, burned and thrown into a dumpster." […] Their killers, in displaying an especially virulent form of hatred, often went from murder to overkill, attempting to obliterate their victims, perhaps in an attempt to erase them completely, […]"
- "24 hours of TV coverage of the US election verged on overkill."
- "Should I give you yet more homework, or would that be overkill?"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Old English ofer- Middle English over- English over- Dutch kilbor. English kill English overkill From over- + kill.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈoʊ.vɚˌkɪl/
- British English: /ˈəʊ.vəˌkɪl/