overtime
/ˈoʊ.vɚˌtaɪm/noun, adverb, verb
overtime is spelled O-V-E-R-T-I-M-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “over-time vs overtime” about 880 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, overtime means “Working time outside of one's regular hours” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of overtime is overtimes.
How many letters and syllables are in overtime?
| Letters | 8: O-V-E-R-T-I-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.7 times per million words; the 7,797th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people 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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is overtime?
Overtime appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th 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 overtime?
- UK /ˈəʊ.və.taɪm/
- US /ˈoʊ.vɚˌtaɪm/
Overtime 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-overtime.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with overtime
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: over-time (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of overtime
- overtimes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- overtiming participle, present
- overtimed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overtime mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Working time outside of one's regular hours.
Workers are usually paid extra for working overtime.
- 2
The rate of pay, usually higher, for work done outside of or in addition to regular hours.
- 3
USAn extra period of play when a contest has a tie score at the end of regulation.
That last-second shot ties the game 99-99 and sends it to overtime!
- 4
USExtra laps after the set race length of laps or time, to allow for a green-white-checkered finish.
- 5
A period of time longer than scheduled.
- 6
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see over, time.
adverb
- 1
Exceeding regular working hours.
- 2
Beyond the normal or usual extent.
verb
- 1
To measure something incorrectly, as taking more time than it actually did.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate overtime?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of overtime: OT.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overtime in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | heures supplémentaires , prolongation |
| German | Überstunden , Überstundenzuschlag, Überstundenvergütung, Zuschlag, Überstundenlohn, Mehrarbeitszuschlag |
| Portuguese | hora extra , prolongamento, prorrogação |
| Spanish | horas extras, tiempo de más, overtime, horas extraordinarias , a destajo |
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 overtime come from?
From over- + time.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).