Meaning & use
overstay my welcome
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiominformal
To remain as a guest or visitor for so long that your hosts begin to feel annoyed or tired of you.
Grammar: The possessive matches the subject: I overstay my welcome, she overstayed her welcome.
Patterns
- overstay your welcome
- overstay someone's welcome
I should leave now, because I don't want to overstay my welcome.
Our cousin overstayed his welcome by living in our spare room for three months.
Good houseguests know when they are about to overstay their welcome.
phraseidiomfigurative
To remain in a role, a place or a public spotlight after people have stopped wanting you there.
Grammar: Used figuratively of non-guests, such as performers or leaders.
Patterns
- overstay your welcome in something
The comedian overstayed his welcome by telling the same jokes for an hour.
Some politicians overstay their welcome and lose the voters' goodwill.
The TV series overstayed its welcome after nine seasons.
Word forms
| third person singular | overstays his/her welcome |
|---|---|
| past tense | overstayed my welcome |
| -ing form | overstaying my welcome |
Common combinations
- afraid of overstaying my welcome
- I'm afraid of overstaying my welcome, so I'll head home soon.
- overstay your welcome
- Fish and guests smell after three days, so don't overstay your welcome.
- without overstaying their welcome
- The band played a short set without overstaying their welcome.
- feel you've overstayed your welcome
- You'll feel you've overstayed your welcome if the host keeps yawning.
- quickly overstay a welcome
- A loud neighbor can quickly overstay a welcome at a quiet party.
Synonyms and how they differ
- outstay your welcome
- Outstay your welcome is the British variant with exactly the same meaning, and it is slightly more common in the UK.
- wear out your welcome
- Wear out your welcome stresses that your behavior gradually used up the goodwill, not just the length of the visit.
- linger
- Linger is neutral and can be pleasant, while overstay my welcome always implies that the stay has become unwelcome.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: overstay my welcome or overstay a visa?
overstay my welcome vs overstay a visa
This is a legal term meaning to remain in a country past the date allowed, not a social idiom about annoying hosts.
Practice
It was a lovely evening, but we left early because we didn't want to ______.
Choose one answer.
The fixed idiom is overstay your welcome, meaning stay until the hosts are tired of you. The other verbs do not form a recognized idiom with 'welcome'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “overstay my welcome”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.