overshot

/ˈəʊ.vəˌʃɒt/

//ˈəʊ.vəˌʃɒt// verb

"overshot" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“overshot” is uncommon English (frequency #58,913 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,913
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of overshoot

Corpus desk

Index EN-overshot · overshot · English

overshot · rank #58,913 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,913
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH overexpression

Nearest frequency peer: overexpression (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “overshot”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “overshot” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for overshot
PropertyValue
Headwordovershot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈəʊ.vəˌʃɒt/
Letters8
Frequency rank#58,913
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “overshot” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).overshotfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “overexpression” (#58,912), “pacey” (#58,914), “overcharging” (#58,911). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “overshot” is #58,913. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

overshot is uncommon English at frequency #58,913 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈəʊ.vəˌʃɒt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "simple past and past participle of overshoot".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for overshot, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is overshot, spelled O-V-E-R-S-H-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of overshoot

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "overshot"?
"overshot" is spelled O-V-E-R-S-H-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈəʊ.vəˌʃɒt/.
What does "overshot" mean?
As a verb, "overshot" means: simple past and past participle of overshoot
How do you pronounce "overshot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "overshot" is /ˈəʊ.vəˌʃɒt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "overshot" come from?
"overshot" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "overshot", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list