- having or designating an upper jaw that projects beyond the lower jaw, esp when considered as an abnormality
- (of a water wheel) driven by a flow of water that passes over the wheel rather than under it
Compare undershot
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
o•ver•shot
(adj., n. ō′vər shot′;v. ō′vər shot′),USA pronunciation adj.
v.
n.
- Hydraulicsdriven over the top of, as by water passing over from above.
- having the upper jaw projecting beyond the lower, as a dog.
v.
- pt. and pp. of overshoot.
n.
- Clothing, Textiles(in weaving) a pattern formed when filling threads are passed over several warp threads at a time.
- over- + shot1 1525–35
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
overshot /ˈəʊvəˌʃɒt/ adj
o•ver•shoot /ˌoʊvɚˈʃut/USA pronunciation
v., -shot, -shoot•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to shoot or go over, beyond, or above so as to miss:[~ + object]The missile overshot its target.
- to pass or go by or beyond (a landing or stopping place) unintentionally: [~ + object]The plane overshot the runway.[no object]On his landing the pilot overshot and crashed.
o•ver•shoot
(v. ō′vər sho̅o̅t′;n. ō′vər sho̅o̅t′),USA pronunciation v., -shot, -shoot•ing, n.
v.t.
v.i.
n.
v.t.
- to shoot or go over, beyond, or above;
miss:The missile overshot its target. - to pass or go by or beyond (a point, limit, etc.):to overshoot a stop sign.
- to shoot or pour down over:turbulent water overshooting the top of the dam.
- to overreach (oneself or itself );
go further than is intended or proper;
go too far:It looked as though his self-confidence had overshot itself. - (of an aircraft or pilot) to fly too far along (a landing strip) in attempting to land.
v.i.
- to fly or go beyond.
- to shoot over or above a mark.
n.
- a shooting beyond a specified point or target:two overshoots in the missile test series.
- the amount of excessive distance in a trajectory or route:a two-mile overshoot on the artillery range.
- 1325–75; Middle English; see over-, shoot
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
overshoot /ˌəʊvəˈʃuːt/ vb ( -shoots, -shooting, -shot)
- to shoot or go beyond (a mark or target)
- to cause (an aircraft) to fly or taxi too far along (a runway) during landing or taking off, or (of an aircraft) to fly or taxi too far along a runway
- (transitive) to pass swiftly over or down over, as water over a wheel
- an act or instance of overshooting
- the extent of such overshooting
'overshot' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):