overclaim

verb

over·​claim ˌō-vər-ˈklām How to pronounce overclaim (audio)
overclaimed; overclaiming

transitive + intransitive

1
: to claim too much of (something, such as an expense)
Not shockingly, the most popular form of deceit is underreporting income, followed by overclaiming deductions.Maurie Backman
… handed back more than £70,000 of taxpayers' money after overclaiming on expenses …Tim Shipman
2
: to make a false or exaggerated claim about (something)
has a tendency to overclaim his accomplishments
… allowed the researchers to, in effect, overclaim the significance of what they had found …Jesse Singal
Sometimes the product claims are valid, Martin says, but some sales reps are overclaiming.Lisa Guenther
overclaim noun
plural overclaims
… the process leads to millions of cases where taxpayers inadvertently make overclaims that the IRS does not identify until months later … Office of the (United States) National Taxpayer Advocate
the advertisement's alleged overclaims

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of overclaim was in 1824

Dictionary Entries Near overclaim

Cite this Entry

“Overclaim.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overclaim. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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