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go overboard
Idioms and Phrases
Show excessive enthusiasm, act in an excessive way. For example, It's easy to go overboard with a new stock offering , or She really went overboard, hiring the most expensive caterer . [Mid-1900s]Example Sentences
After all, when the MRM decides a woman has transgressed even in the slightest, some of its members tend to go overboard.
Of course, we shouldn't go overboard: Oregon only looked at hypertension, cholesterol, and blood sugar.
Some players go overboard, blowing through hundreds or thousands of dollars.
But even when celebs do open up, they tend to not go overboard with details.
If you want to go overboard and really pile up the tastes, serve this with Hot Buttered Rum Sauce.
As it was, it was necessary for half the crew to go overboard, stand on the rock, and lift the canoe off.
Neither is she the kind to go overboard in a few days, especially when I was there.
If he should really go overboard with a bullet in his brain, farewell to Kate Bonnet, farewell to his mother!
Artie Lyon had seen Sandy go overboard, and now he drew his uncle's attention to the scene.
So it is harmless, and if we can tire one out I'm not afraid to go overboard and tackle him in the water.
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More About Go Overboard
What does go overboard mean?
Go overboard is a phrase that means to show excessive enthusiasm or to do something excessively.
Go overboard can express that someone shows too much enthusiasm, as in I tend to go overboard when I cook and make too much food.
Go overboard can also be used more generally to refer to someone going to an extreme when they do something, as in Shira really went overboard with this birthday party by hiring twenty clowns!
Example: The science teacher went so overboard with her explanation of molecules that the entire class was confused.
Where does go overboard come from?
The first records of go overboard come from around 1931. Its literal meaning refers to falling over the side of a ship, especially into the water. The figurative meaning likely comes from this literal meaning.
Go overboard is typically used to mean that a person is doing something that is unnecessary or goes too far in whatever they are doing. You might be warned not to go overboard to avoid this, such as when there is a tight budget or short deadline.
Did you know … ?
What are some synonyms for go overboard?
What are some words that share a root or word element with go overboard?
What are some words that often get used in discussing go overboard?
How is go overboard used in real life?
Go overboard is a common phrase that describes a situation in which a person does too much or goes too far.
I go overboard. I get excited, order too much food, plan too much… Also I fall out of boats.
— Ian Bohen (@IanBohen) January 14, 2015
I don't buy new clothes often but when I do, I go overboard haha Gotta love new clothes 👍
— Ali-A (@OMGitsAliA) February 21, 2015
Someone on press row went overboard with the cologne and now I have a headache. #brutal
— ChadinPortland 🎙 (@ChadinRipCity) February 26, 2020
Try using go overboard!
Is go overboard used correctly in the following sentence?
Please don’t go overboard by spending too much money on the gift.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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