overlap
/ˌəʊvəˈlæp/verb, noun
overlap is spelled O-V-E-R-L-A-P: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, overlap means “To extend over and partly cover something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overlap?
| Letters | 7: O-V-E-R-L-A-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.0 times per million words; the 11,198th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is overlap?
Overlap appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th 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 overlap?
- /ˌəʊvəˈlæp/
- /ˌoʊvɚˈlæp/
As a noun (“Something that overlaps or is overlapped”): /ˈəʊvəˌlæp/, /ˈoʊvɚˌlæp/.
Overlap 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)-Vealhurl-overlap_(verb).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-overlap_(noun).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of overlap
- overlaps present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- overlapping participle, present
- overlapped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overlap mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To extend over and partly cover something.
The mouse-mat overlapped the edge of the desk.
- 2
To co-occur, to happen at the same time.
- 3
To have an area, range, character or function in common.
The two maps overlapped at the east and west edges.
- 4
Of sets: to have some elements in common.
The set (all men) overlaps the set (vegetarians).
- 5
To have some similar nucleotide sequences.
- 6
An illusion of depth is created when one object partially covers another.
noun
- 1
Something that overlaps or is overlapped.
- 2
a situation in the game where an attacking line has more players in it than the defensive line coming to meet it. The attacking side may exploit the overlap by using their superior numbers to break the opposition's defensive line. If attackers outnumber defenders by more than one player this is often termed a two man overlap or three man overlap, etc. If the attacking side fails to break through u
- 3
The payment of a spouse's or other dependant's annuity benefits concurrently with the member's benefits, on death of the member during the guarantee period.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overlap in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chevaucher , se chevaucher , avoir une intersection commune avec , chevauchement |
| German | überlappen, überlagern, überdecken, hinausragen über , überschneiden |
| Portuguese | sobrepor, cobrir , sobrepor-se |
| Spanish | solapar, traslapar, asolapar, imbricar , solaparse, traslaparse |
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 overlap come from?
From over- + lap.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).