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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/
: 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.