1
as in to defeat
to get the better of through cleverness
a real estate developer who is always trying to overreach his competitors, fair means or foul
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to exceed
to go beyond the limit of
the mountain climbers overreached their abilities and paid for it dearly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overreach
But some Bay Area cities and counties already have decided that the Flock Safety tools are too overreaching.
—
Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2026
That caused some unease in the business community that Douglas County was overreaching.
—John Aguilar, Denver Post, 25 Feb. 2026
Commentators quickly pointed out that Anthropic itself has faced high‑profile accusations of overreaching in its own data collection practices beyond the copyright case from authors, such as a separate case over scraping Reddit content.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2026
Jennifer Poe, a mother of an athlete on the team, said multiple coaches have been pressured to leave the program due to overreach, stating that coaches should be allowed to pick their own staff.
—Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for overreach
Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2026
That caused some unease in the business community that Douglas County was overreaching.
—John Aguilar, Denver Post, 25 Feb. 2026
Commentators quickly pointed out that Anthropic itself has faced high‑profile accusations of overreaching in its own data collection practices beyond the copyright case from authors, such as a separate case over scraping Reddit content.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2026
Jennifer Poe, a mother of an athlete on the team, said multiple coaches have been pressured to leave the program due to overreach, stating that coaches should be allowed to pick their own staff.
—Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 21 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for overreach
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overreach
Verb
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Earlier this month, Michigan defeated UConn in the NCAA men’s basketball national championship game.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
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In large part because the only feeling more satisfying than defeating your enemies is that of defeating your friends.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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All of his last three efforts on Friday exceeded 49 feet.—
Steve Brand,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
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With most municipalities at or exceeding flood levels, here is where things stood as of week’s end and what was being affected by the high water.—
Mike Danahey,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Frey unleashed his five-pitch arsenal, thwarting the Spartans most of the way.—
Paul Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
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Russia’s defense ministry said its paramilitary forces helped thwart a coup.—
Preeti Jha,
semafor.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This expansion comes amid a record 12 million visitors across California’s nine national parks in 2025, surpassing previous attendance records.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Perez now sits 10 homers shy of surpassing Hall of Famer George Brett for the franchise record.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This intent to deceive constituents has been obvious since February.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
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Rashid deceived Padikkal with a perfect googly while Kohli dragged jason Holder’s slower ball onto his stumps.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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How Disney’s founder, namesake, and first CEO overcame the crisis of his day may give D’Amaro a blueprint for his.—
Roland Betancourt,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
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But even more inspiring was their determination to overcome enormous losses and difficulties to try to make new lives for themselves.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Iran has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to exploit the rhythms of American politics — election cycles, media pressures, bureaucratic fragmentation — to delay, confuse, and outmaneuver counterparts.—
Gaurav Srivastava,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Apr. 2026
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Krüger trained Filou to test out a working theory that seals use their whiskers to outmaneuver fish trying to escape them.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Instead of drafting franchise cornerstones in JaMarr Chase or Penei Sewell, ex-GM Chris Grier outsmarted himself.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
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Earth Day is the one day a year when picking up litter feels less like a chore and more like joining a very low-budget superhero league — no cape required, just a decent pair of gloves and a willingness to outsmart a rogue plastic bag.—
Vytas Reid,
CBS News,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overreach.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overreach. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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