overwrite
overwrite Lexical Profile
overwrite Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To destroy or replace existing data on a computer storage medium by recording new data in the same location.
"Saving the document with the same file name will overwrite the previous draft."
To write in an excessively ornate, elaborate, or wordy style, or to produce too much written material.
"Beginning novelists often overwrite their descriptive passages in an effort to sound poetic."
To write on top of existing text or markings.
"The medieval scribe scraped the parchment and proceeded to overwrite the faded Latin text with a new hymn."
• noun
An instance of recording new data over existing data in computer memory or on a storage medium, thereby erasing and replacing the original content.
"The system administrator enabled write-protection on the drive to prevent an accidental overwrite of the backup files."
• Rhymes for overwrite
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English oferwritan, meaning to write over or superscribe, formed from the prefix ofer- (over) and writan (to write). The computing sense of replacing stored electronic data emerged in the mid-20th century.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.