overburden

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overburden

/ˌəʊ̯vəˈbɜːdn̩/ UK
/ˌoʊvɚˈbɝdn̩/ Canada, US
/ˌəʉ̯vəˈbɜːdn̩/ Australia
[ˌɐʉ̯.vɐˈbɜːdn̩] Australia
/ˈəʊ̯vəˌbɜːdn̩/ UK
/ˈoʊvɚˌbɝdn̩/ Canada, US
/ˈəʉ̯vəˌbɜːdn̩/ Australia
[ˈɐʉ̯.vɐˌbɜːdn̩] Australia

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)dən

verb overburdens · overburdening · overburdened · overburthen

transitive To overload or overtax. In reality, the levels of work varied: some internationals seemed overburdened with tasks and responsibility, some seemed underburdened, and some faced apparently just the right amount of work.
Similar: inundate, overload, surcharge, swamp

noun overburdens · overburthen

countable, uncountable The rock and subsoil that lies above a mineral deposit such as a coal seam, or any other underground feature. Before much progress was made with the inverts, however, the movement became accelerated, and it was decided to lighten the load over the tunnel by removing some of the soil, […]. This reduction in the overburden arrested the movement, and the inverting and centring were completed, and the tunnel op
Similar: mullock
countable, uncountable A sterile stratum that lies above the stratum being investigated.

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MLA

"overburden." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/overburden. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

overburden. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/overburden

Chicago

"overburden." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/overburden.

BibTeX

@misc{overburden_2026,
  title = {overburden},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/overburden},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}