overstood

Verb (1)

overstand (third-person singular simple present overstands, present participle overstanding, simple past and past participle overstood)

1. (rare, transitive) To stand or insist too much or too long; overstay.
   • But they that overstand the day of grace, shall not obtain to cool their tongues so much of this water as will hang on the tip of one's finger.1688, Bunyan, The Water of Life
2. (transitive) To stand too strictly on the demands or conditions of.
3. (transitive, yachting, boat racing) To sail (to the mark) at a wider angle than is the normal upwind angle; to go beyond (the layline).
4. (intransitive) To be neglected and left uncut for too long.
   • When a coppice woodland is no longer cut on its regular rotation the rods from the stool continue to grow and the coppice becomes known as overstood. Sadly, in many parts of the country this is the commonest form of coppice you are likely to see.2001, Ben Law, The Woodland Way: a permaculture approach to sustainable woodland management, Hyden House, →ISBN

Verb (2)

overstand (third-person singular simple present overstands, present participle overstanding, simple past and past participle overstood)

1. (US black subculture) To have complete or intuitive comprehension of; to understand fully.
   • "But, Sister, it look like you neither overstand or understand"1965, Orlando Patterson, The children of Sisyphus: A novel, page 192

   Synonyms:

   get, grok

See all 6 meanings of overstand