overburden
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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an excessive burden.
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Also called burden, capping. Mining. waste earth and rock covering a mineral deposit.
verb
noun
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an excessive burden or load
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geology the sedimentary rock material that covers coal seams, mineral veins, etc
Other Word Forms
- overburdensome adjective
Etymology
Origin of overburden
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Generally colliery tips were located on steep hillsides, whereas Ffos-y-Fran's overburden mounds sit "on ground with gentle gradients", with differences too in terms of how they were constructed and their drainage systems, they said.
From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025
Even so, to overburden a few food metaphors, there are a lot of flavors at play in Healy’s poignant, surreal family drama.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 6, 2023
They won’t overburden him the way the Angels have, or the way many other teams would.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2023
The published proposal said $100 billion should be a "minimum" and provide a safety net when climate impacts overburden a country's capacity to cope.
From Reuters • Sep. 6, 2023
I helped my parents carry their tools, and they walked ahead so straight, each carrying a basket or a hoe not to overburden me, their tears falling privately.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
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.
