Meaning & use
overburden
To load someone or something with too much weight, work, or responsibility.
See it in a sentence
Managers should avoid overburdening new employees with tasks in their first week.
The old bridge was overburdened by trucks far heavier than it was designed for.
A note on using this word
In mining, 'overburden' is also a noun for the soil and rock removed to reach a mineral deposit.
Words with a similar meaning
overloadoverwhelm
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Another way to use it
2. noun
The layer of soil and rock that lies above a mineral deposit and must be removed before mining.
Engineers calculated how much overburden had to be cleared before mining could begin.
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