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to overshoot

to overshoot

6 4.6
To go past a target or point by mistake
  • verb
  • /ˌoʊvərˈʃut/
translation icon : pasarse
  • The archer aimed carefully but still managed to overshoot the target by several feet.
  • overshoot the mark
  • overshoot the target
  • tendency to overshoot

So the temp, the like temptation to overshoot is massive.

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Examples

  • Direct-drive electrical systems are fast, all right, but they tend to jitter, overshoot, jerk out of control, and fall off the edge.

    Academic text (2005)
  • It's a problem because even if you decrease global population considerably, you will still have overshoot.

    Blog text (13)
  • You have that, that and a lot of times we overshoot thinking that that is going to be the best way to go about things.

  • Being able to show the space between the bird and the castle when you overshoot is essential to the learning experience.

    Blog text (32)
  • Remember, if we overshoot, there's no coming back.

  • "Hey, you're going to overshoot if you keep coming at that speed."

    Fiction book (1999)
  • So if you make a premature attempt at revolution and you overshoot the mark, then the attempt tends to collapse under its own weight.

  • But falling masses of gas may overshoot and descend farther into the solar interior.

    Academic text (1991)
  • "In the absence of other negative feedback mechanisms, populations grow exponentially until they overshoot the carrying capacity."

    Blog text (1)
  • What I'm saying is that, if we overshoot this by even the smallest integer, we're dealing with concentrations with extraordinary levels of toxicity so--

Antonyms

Fail to reach a target by falling short

Phrasal Verbs

Spend more money than planned for a project

How Far

to overrun
4 5.3
to exceed
255 4.1
to overshoot
6 4.6
to go past
16 1.0

Surface Forms

overshoot infinitive
overshooting present participle
overshoots third person singular
overshot past
overshot past participle

Morphology

overshoot = shoot (transparent) = over + shoot

The prefix 'over-' clearly indicates going beyond the intended point, making the meaning of 'overshoot' directly derivable from 'shoot'.

Etymology

The word overshoot combines over- meaning 'beyond' and shoot meaning 'to send or fire', as when you shoot an arrow. So to overshoot a target is to go past it because you sent your shot too far.