overburden
/ˌoʊvɚˈbɝdn̩/verb, noun
overburden is spelled O-V-E-R-B-U-R-D-E-N: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, overburden means “To overload or overtax” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overburden?
| Letters | 10: O-V-E-R-B-U-R-D-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 overburden?
Overburden appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th 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 overburden?
- UK /ˌəʊ̯vəˈbɜːdn̩/
- US /ˌoʊvɚˈbɝdn̩/
- Australia /ˌəʉ̯vəˈbɜːdn̩/
As a noun (“The rock and subsoil that lies above a mineral deposit such…”): /ˈəʊ̯vəˌbɜːdn̩/, /ˈoʊvɚˌbɝdn̩/, /ˈəʉ̯vəˌbɜːdn̩/.
Overburden has 4 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)-Sapaa-overburden.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with overburden?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as overburden from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹdn/):
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 overburden
- overburdens present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- overburdening participle, present
- overburdened participle, past
- overburthen
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overburden mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To overload or overtax.
noun
- 1
The rock and subsoil that lies above a mineral deposit such as a coal seam, or any other underground feature.
- 2
A sterile stratum that lies above the stratum being investigated.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does overburden come from?
From over- + burden.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).