Word.ws English Dictionary

overspreading

overspreading is the present participle and gerund of overspread.

Meaning of overspread

Verb

overspread (third-person singular simple present overspreads, present participle overspreading, simple past and past participle overspread)

  1. (transitive) To spread over or across (something); cover over; be scattered over; permeate, overrun.
    • those nations of the North which overspread the world1612, Michael Drayton, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned...
    Synonyms:
    bespread
  2. (intransitive) To be spread or scattered about.

Noun

overspreading (plural overspreadings)

  1. That which spreads over something else.
    • But supposing that heaven had a Lord, then all included in its overspreadings and supportings, throughout the myriad of states, and within the four seas, would invariably be under the government of Heaven's Lord […]1847, Walter Henry Medhurst, A Dissertation on the Theology of the Chinese, page 252

Adjective

overspreading (comparative more overspreading, superlative most overspreading)

  1. Rampant; encroaching.
    • The third part of practice hath divers branches, but one principal root in these our times, which is the vast and overspreading ambition and usurpation of the see of Rome; […]a. 1627 (date written), Francis Bacon, chapter VII, in James Spedding, editor, The Works of Francis Bacon, […]: The Letters and the Life of Francis Bacon […], volume IV, London: Longmans, Green...

Forms of overspreading

Noun
pluraloverspreadings
Adjective
comparativemore overspreading
superlativemost overspreading

Questions about overspreading

What does overspreading mean?
Overspreading means that which spreads over something else.
What is overspreading the present participle and gerund of?
Overspreading is the present participle and gerund of overspread.
What part of speech is overspreading?
Overspreading can be a noun or an adjective.
What is the plural of overspreading?
The plural of overspreading is overspreadings.

Words near overspreading in the dictionary

  1. overspray surface texture
  2. oversprays
  3. overspread
  4. overspreadest
  5. overspreadeth
  6. overspreading
  7. overspreadings
  8. overspreads
  9. overspring
  10. overspringing
  11. oversprings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: overspreading (page history and authors); overspread (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “overspreading.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/overspreading. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.