overtax
/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈtæks/verb
overtax is spelled O-V-E-R-T-A-X: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 35 million words in written English, the 180,281st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, overtax means “To tax to an excessive degree” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overtax?
| Letters | 7: O-V-E-R-T-A-X |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 35 million words; the 180,281st 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 overtax?
Overtax appears about once in every 35 million words in written English, the 180,281st 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 overtax?
- /ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈtæks/
Overtax 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)-Flame,_not_lame-overtax.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of overtax
- overtaxes present, singular, he/she/it
- overtaxing participle, present
- overtaxed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overtax mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To tax to an excessive degree.
- 2
To overburden.
The overtaxed shaft snapped.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overtax in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to tax to an excessive degree:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | surtaxer |
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 overtax come from?
From over- + tax.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).