overload
/ˌoʊvɚˈloʊd/verb, noun
overload is spelled O-V-E-R-L-O-A-D: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, overload means “To load excessively” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overload?
| Letters | 8: O-V-E-R-L-O-A-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th 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 overload?
Overload appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th 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 overload?
- UK /ˌəʊvəˈləʊd/
- US /ˌoʊvɚˈloʊd/
- Australia /ˌəʉvəˈləʉd/
As a noun (“An excessive load”): /ˈəʊvəˌləʊd/, /ˈoʊvɚˌloʊd/, /ˈəʉvəˌləʉd/.
Overload 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-overload.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-overload.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with overload?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as overload from its last stressed vowel (/oʊd/):
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 overload
- overloads present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- overloading participle, present
- overloaded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overload mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To load excessively.
- 2
To provide too much power to a circuit.
- 3
To create different functions for the same name, to be used in different contexts.
- 4
To fail due to excessive load.
noun
- 1
An excessive load.
- 2
The damage done, or the outage caused, by such a load.
- 3
An load of goods above the prescribed carrying weight of the vehicle.
- 4
An overloaded version of a function.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overload in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | surcharger , surcharge |
| German | überladen, überlasten , Überladung, Überlastung , überlastet sein |
| Portuguese | sobrecarregar |
| Spanish | sobrecargar , sobrecarga |
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 overload come from?
From over- + load.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).