as in lapping
a partial covering of one thing by an adjoining member
the orthodontist will try to fix that overlap of two of your upper incisors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to overlie
to lie over parts of one another
the brochures on the display table should overlap but not so much that the titles are obscured
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of overlap
Kansas City Star, 10 Sep. 2025
The overlap in the Venn diagram of the beliefs of Mormons (especially the reality-TV variety) and the traditional values The Bachelor has long espoused is basically a circle.
—Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 12 Sep. 2025
Other conservative groups had overlapping missions on college campuses, but Kirk’s drive and debating skills quickly grew the footprint of TPUSA.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overlap
Noun
There’s some overlap, sure, but folks who tune into audio stories, those are my people.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Sep. 2025
The overlap in the Venn diagram of the beliefs of Mormons (especially the reality-TV variety) and the traditional values The Bachelor has long espoused is basically a circle.
—Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
Their time on the long-running series overlapped for years.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 12 Sep. 2025
Other conservative groups had overlapping missions on college campuses, but Kirk’s drive and debating skills quickly grew the footprint of TPUSA.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overlap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overlap
Verb
-
Earth’s substantial atmosphere and geomagnetic field block most (but not all) of this bombardment, and the sunless interiors of worlds without these properties still get protection from overlying material.—
Emma R. Hasson,
Scientific American,
17 Aug. 2025
-
This upward surge of water fractured the overlying ice sheet, creating new channels for the water to escape.—
Samantha Mathewson,
Space.com,
31 July 2025
Verb
-
High walls ran between the dusty road and the hillside, and on the other side the lake sparkled and lapped.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Celestún sits along white-sand shores where crystalline waves lap gently, the ultimate antithesis to see-and-be-seen spots on the Yucatán Peninsula's other coast.—
Carley Rojas Avila,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The sound department actually played the music that would overlay the scene as Dockery acted.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
-
At its core, Caption with Intention is a novel captioning design system which aims to significantly augment several critical points of failure within traditional captioning by overlaying animation, color and variable typography to bring the text to life.—
Gus Alexiou,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overlap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overlap. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share