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to oversubscribe

to oversubscribe

6.7
To ask for more tickets or places than are available so some miss out
  • verb
  • /ˌoʊvərsəbˈskraɪb/
translation icon : sobresuscribir
  • If too many people oversubscribe to the service, some may be turned away.

Examples

  • Many investors oversubscribed to the new tech fund.

  • The new course was oversubscribed, so not everyone who applied could attend.

  • The concert was so popular that fans oversubscribed the ticket sales within minutes.

  • If we oversubscribe, we risk disappointing customers.

  • Many investors decided to oversubscribe to the new fund, expecting high returns despite limited availability.

  • The school's summer camp had to turn away children since they oversubscribed to the program this year.

  • It's common for fans to oversubscribe to multiple streaming services, leading to content overload.

How Excessive

to oversubscribe
6.7
to request
1.0

Surface Forms

oversubscribe infinitive
oversubscribed past participle
oversubscribing present participle
oversubscribes third person singular

Morphology

oversubscribe = subscribe (transparent) = over + subscribe

The prefix 'over-' (excess) added to the verb 'subscribe' yields the sense of applying in excess of availability, a straightforward productive formation.

Etymology

Oversubscribe combines over- ('too many') and subscribe ('to sign up'). So it means too many people sign up or ask for something and there is not enough to give to everyone.