- the capacity of a nation's nuclear weapon stockpile to kill many times the total population of any given nation
- much more of something than is necessary, appropriate, etc.; esp., an excess of effort in attempting to achieve some end
overkill
o·ver·killWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"overkill." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/overkill>.
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overkill. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/overkill
overkill
noun
- The destructive use of military force beyond the amount needed to destroy an enemy.
- The excessive use of force in killing an individual or organism.
- Elimination or drastic reduction of an animal population by hunting or killing.
- An excess of what is necessary or appropriate for a particular end: “government overkill in dealing with dissent” ( Jesse Unruh )
verb
o·ver·killed, o·ver·kill·ing, o·ver·killsverb
transitive- To destroy (an enemy or enemy target) with more force than necessary.
- To use excessive force in killing (an individual, for example).
- To kill too many of (a population of animals) for the population to maintain itself in substantial numbers.
- To apply an excess of what is necessary or appropriate for (a particular end): overkill an advertising campaign.
verb
intransitiveTo engage in overkill.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"overkill." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/overkill>.
APA Style
overkill. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/overkill
Noun
(uncountable)
- (literally) A destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemy; especially with nuclear weapons.
- (idiomatic) An unnecessary excess of whatever is needed to achieve a goal.
- 24 hours of TV coverage of the US election verged on overkill.
- Should I give you yet more homework, or would that be overkill?
Verb
(third-person singular simple present overkills, present participle overkilling, simple past and past participle overkilled)
- To destroy something with more (nuclear) force than is required.
Origin
From over- +"Ž kill.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"overkill." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/overkill>.
APA Style
overkill. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/overkill
