Meaning & use
overcast
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Describing a sky that is fully covered by thick cloud, so the day looks gray and dull.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: an overcast sky, the morning was overcast.
Patterns
- be overcast
- an overcast sky
It was an overcast morning, and the hills had disappeared into the cloud.
The forecast is for overcast skies with a chance of drizzle.
Although the day was overcast, it stayed surprisingly warm.
verbtransitivetechnical
In sewing, to stitch over the raw edge of cloth with loose wrapping stitches so that it does not fray.
Grammar: Takes an object: overcast the seam.
Patterns
- overcast an edge
- overcast a seam
She overcast the raw edges of the hem by hand.
If you have no serger, you can overcast each seam with a needle and thread.
He overcast the edge of the curtain before folding it over.
nouncountable or uncountable
A layer of cloud covering the whole sky.
Grammar: Often used with an or the: a thick overcast hung over the valley.
Patterns
- a heavy overcast
- under the overcast
A low overcast kept the temperature mild all week.
The pilot flew above the overcast and saw bright sun.
Under the gray overcast, the harbor looked flat and cold.
Word forms
| third person singular | overcasts |
|---|---|
| past tense | overcast |
| past participle | overcast |
| -ing form | overcasting |
Common combinations
- overcast sky
- Beneath the overcast sky, the beach felt empty.
- overcast day
- On an overcast day the colors in the photograph looked flat.
- mostly overcast
- Tomorrow will be mostly overcast, with light wind.
- grey and overcast
- The morning was grey and overcast.
- remain overcast
- The weather will remain overcast until Friday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cloudy
- Cloudy is more general and can describe partly clouded skies, while overcast means the clouds cover everything.
- gray
- Gray describes the color and mood of the weather in a looser way, with no technical suggestion of full cloud cover.
- dull
- Dull judges the weather as boring, whereas overcast simply describes how the sky looks.
- murky
- Murky suggests darkness or haze, often with fog or poor visibility, which overcast does not imply.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: overcast or overshadowed?
overcast vs overshadowed
Overshadowed means made to seem less important, or covered by a shadow; overcast describes a cloudy sky.
Practice
We hoped to see the eclipse, but the sky stayed completely ______ and the sun never appeared.
Choose one answer.
Overcast means covered by cloud, so the sun cannot be seen. Clear would mean there were no clouds, which contradicts the situation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “overcast”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.