overlap

verb

over·​lap ˌō-vər-ˈlap How to pronounce overlap (audio)
overlapped; overlapping; overlaps

transitive verb

1
: to extend over or past and cover a part of
The roof shingles overlap each other.
2
: to have something in common with
Baseball season overlaps the football season in September.

intransitive verb

1
: to occupy the same area in part
The two towns overlap.
2
: to have something in common
Some of their duties overlap.
overlap noun

Examples of overlap in a Sentence

The roof shingles overlap each other. Baseball season overlaps football season in September. Some of your duties overlap his.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
With a kind of theater vérité, Cromer fills the monochromatic bunker of a set with a large — the cast numbers 21 — and mostly male ensemble, all bustling about with myriad tasks amid overlapping dialogue and banter. Frank Rizzo, Variety, 4 Apr. 2025 While most people associate the onset of dementia in the elderly with Alzheimer's, there are a number of distinct dementia diagnoses, often with risk factors and underlying biology that only partly overlap. John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 3 Apr. 2025 When companies with mounting technical debt are forced to manage the maze of back-office applications that often overlap and are sometimes outdated, the ability to invest in new technologies needed to drive the business forward is stalled. Henry Helgeson, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025 Little information is publicly available on the four consultancies and recruitment companies allegedly involved in the network, which in some cases shared overlapping websites, were hosted on the same server, or had other digital links, according to Reuters’ reporting and Lesser’s research. Reuters, NBC news, 26 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for overlap

Word History

First Known Use

1704, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of overlap was in 1704

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Overlap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overlap. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

overlap

verb
over·​lap ˌō-vər-ˈlap How to pronounce overlap (audio)
1
: to lay or lie over (something) so as to partly cover
that piece overlaps the edge
2
: to have something in common
political and social interests that often overlap
3
: to occupy the same area in part
the photos overlap
overlap noun

More from Merriam-Webster on overlap

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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