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PlainSpell

overall

/ˌoʊ.vɚˈɔl/adjective, adverb, noun

overall is spelled O-V-E-R-A-L-L: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 79 times per million words in written English, the 1,338th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, overall means “All-encompassing, all around” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in overall?

Letters7: O-V-E-R-A-L-L
Syllables3 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing79 times per million words; the 1,338th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is overall?

Overall appears 79 times per million words in written English, the 1,338th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce overall?

  • UK /ˌəʊ.vəˈɹɔːl/
  • US /ˌoʊ.vɚˈɔl/
  • /ˌoʊ.vɚˈɑl/

As a noun (“A garment worn over other clothing to protect it; a…”): /ˈəʊ.və.ɹɔːl/, /ˈoʊ.vɚ.ɔl/, /ˈoʊ.vɚ.ɑl/.

Overall has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-overall.wav, En-us-overall.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with overall?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as overall from its last stressed vowel (/ɔl/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: allover.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of overall

  • more overall comparative
  • most overall superlative
  • overalls plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does overall mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    All-encompassing, all around.

adverb

  1. 1

    Generally; in general.

    Overall, there is not enough evidence to form a clear conclusion.

  2. 2

    Considering or taking into account everything.

    The frozen foods side of the business overall saw a loss.

noun

  1. 1

    UKA garment worn over other clothing to protect it; a coverall or boiler suit. A garment, for manual labor or for casual wear, often made of a single piece of fabric, with long legs and a bib upper, supported from the shoulders with straps, and having several large pockets and loops for carrying tools.

  2. 2

    USA garment, worn for manual labor, with an integral covering extending to the chest, supported by straps.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Overall in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchglobal, total (all-encompassing), en général, globalement (generally), blouse, combinaison (protective garment worn over clothing)
GermanGesamt- (all-encompassing), insgesamt, alles zusammengenommen (generally), Overall, Latzhose (protective garment worn over clothing)
Portugueseabrangente, geral (all-encompassing), em geral (generally), macacão, jardineira, jardineiras (protective garment worn over clothing)
Spanishen conjunto (all-encompassing), resumidamente, al fin y al cabo, a fin de cuentas, todo sumado, omnímodamente (generally)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does overall come from?

From Middle English overall, overal, from Old English ofer eall, ofer ealle (“over all”), equivalent to over + all. Compare Saterland Frisian oural, uural (“everywhere”), West Frisian oeral (“everywhere”), Dutch overal (“everywhere”), German Low German overall, överall (“everywhere; all over”), German überall (“all over; everywhere”), Danish overalt (“everywhere”), Swedish överallt (“everywhere; overall”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after overall