Meaning & use
overburden
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To give someone or something more work, weight, or responsibility than they can handle.
Grammar: Takes an object: overburden a system. Often used in the passive: be overburdened with/by.
Patterns
- overburden someone with something
- overburden something with something
- be overburdened with something
- be overburdened by something
The new regulations overburden small businesses with paperwork.
She felt overburdened by the constant demands of her job.
Don't overburden the students with too many assignments at once.
noununcountabletechnical
The layer of soil and rock that lies above a mineral deposit and must be removed before mining.
Grammar: Used mainly in mining contexts; usually takes no article.
Patterns
- remove overburden
- thick overburden
- overburden layer
The miners had to remove several meters of overburden before reaching the coal seam.
Overburden is often piled up in large mounds near the mine.
The cost of handling overburden can be significant in open-pit mining.
Word forms
| third person singular | overburdens |
|---|---|
| past tense | overburdened |
| past participle | overburdened |
| -ing form | overburdening |
Common combinations
- overburden with work
- He was overburdened with work and had no time to rest.
- overburden the system
- Too many users can overburden the system and cause it to crash.
- feel overburdened
- Many caregivers feel overburdened and exhausted.
- overburden the taxpayer
- The new tax would overburden the average taxpayer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overload
- Similar meaning, but often used for physical weight or electrical load; overburden is more about work or responsibility.
- burden
- To burden is to give a heavy load, but overburden means to give too much, beyond what is reasonable.
- saddle
- Informal, often followed by 'with': to saddle someone with a task; overburden is stronger and suggests excess.
Opposites
Word family
- overburdened adjective
- Having too much work or responsibility.
- burden noun
- A heavy load or difficult responsibility.
- burdensome adjective
- Causing difficulty or worry; heavy to bear.
Commonly confused: overburden or overload?
overburden vs overload
Overload is more common for electrical or physical loads; overburden is more about work or responsibility.
Practice
The new manager tends to ______ his team with too many tasks.
Choose one answer.
After 'tends to' we need the base form of the verb, so 'overburden' is correct. 'Overburdening' is the -ing form, which would not follow 'to' here; 'overburdened' is past tense and would not fit after 'tends to'; 'overburdens' is third person singular and would not agree with 'tends to'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “overburden”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.