overkill
A destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemyA destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemy; especially with nuclear weapons.
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» Doing it that way would be overkill.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
4 senses(literally, uncountable)A destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemy; especially with nuclear weapons.
the capability to obliterate a target with more weapons (especially nuclear weapons) than are required
(literally, uncountable)Destruction beyond what is necessary to kill, especially in murder.
(broadly, uncountable)An unnecessary excess of whatever is needed to achieve a goal.
24 hours of TV coverage of the US election verged on overkill.
Should I give you yet more homework, or would that be overkill?
Overkill, Übermaß
переги́бperegíb, перебо́рperebór, перевыполнениеperevypolnenije
any effort that seems to go farther than would be necessary to achieve its goal
(uncountable)An unnecessary excess of disposal because of too high criteria of inspection.
Examples
6 sentencesDoing it that way would be overkill.
The fiscal austerity may lead to an overkill of the economy.
It would be overkill, Tom.
Isn't that overkill?
deIst das nicht so, als wollte man mit Kanonen auf Spatzen schießen? — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Listing every tree by its name would be overkill, but allow me to name at least one: the fig tree.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
Dutch kilbor.Dutch kilbor.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Antonyms
1 antonymsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.