overwrite
/oʊ.vɚˈɹaɪt/verb, noun
overwrite is spelled O-V-E-R-W-R-I-T-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 57,423rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, overwrite means “To destroy (older) data by recording new data over it” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overwrite?
| Letters | 9: O-V-E-R-W-R-I-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 57,423rd 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 overwrite?
Overwrite appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 57,423rd 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 overwrite?
- UK /əʊ.vəˈɹaɪt/
- US /oʊ.vɚˈɹaɪt/
Overwrite 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)-Back_ache-overwrite.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with overwrite?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as overwrite from its last stressed vowel (/aɪt/):
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 overwrite
- overwrites present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- overwriting participle, present
- overwrote past
- overwritten participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overwrite mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To destroy (older) data by recording new data over it.
I accidentally saved my unwanted changes and overwrote the version of the document I wanted to keep.
- 2
To cover in writing; to write over the top of.
- 3
To write too much.
- 4
To write in an unnecessarily complicated or florid way; to produce purple prose.
noun
- 1
The operation of destroying older data by recording new data over it.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overwrite in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense destroy old data:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | écraser |
| German | überschreiben |
| Portuguese | sobrescrever |
| Spanish | sobrescribir, planchar |
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 overwrite come from?
From over- + write.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).