overcrowding

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   a situation where too many people or things are in one place, causing problems

   Grammar: Uncountable; no plural form. Use 'overcrowding is' not 'overcrowding are'.

   Patterns

   • overcrowding in a place
   • overcrowding of a place
   • reduce overcrowding

   Overcrowding in the city's schools is getting worse.

   The prison suffers from severe overcrowding.

   They built new trains to reduce overcrowding on the subway.

2. 2noununcountable

   the state of being too full of people or things, especially in housing or transport

   Grammar: Often used with adjectives like 'severe', 'chronic', or 'massive'.

   Patterns

   • severe overcrowding
   • chronic overcrowding
   • overcrowding problem

   The overcrowding at the concert made it hard to move.

   Overcrowding is a major issue in many developing cities.

Common combinations

severe overcrowding

The hospital is facing severe overcrowding.

reduce overcrowding

The government plans to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

overcrowding in cities

Overcrowding in cities leads to high rents.

overcrowding problem

The overcrowding problem needs urgent attention.

Synonyms and how they differ

congestion

Often used for traffic or nasal passages; 'overcrowding' is more about too many people in a space.

crowding

Less strong; 'overcrowding' implies it is excessive and problematic.

Word family

overcrowded adjective

Too full of people or things, e.g., an overcrowded bus.

crowd noun

A large group of people in one place.

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “overcrowding”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words