verb
noun
Freq #63883
Meanings
-
1
verb
to give someone or something more work, weight, debt, or responsibility than can reasonably be carried
The new reporting rules could overburden small charities with paperwork.
-
2
noun
geology and mining: soil and rock lying above a mineral deposit or bedrock
The miners removed several meters of overburden before reaching the coal seam.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Formed from over- ('excessively; above') + burden. The verb names an excessive load; the geological noun uses the spatial sense of over- for material lying above a useful deposit.