overengineer

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word overengineer. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word overengineer, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say overengineer in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word overengineer you have here. The definition of the word overengineer will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofoverengineer, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

From over- +‎ engineer.

Verb

overengineer (third-person singular simple present overengineers, present participle overengineering, simple past and past participle overengineered)

  1. (transitive) To render something more complicated than necessary; often implying that the complexity was added intentionally.
    • 2007 January 31, Martin Fackler, “Hobbled by Disappointing Sales and a Loss at the Game Unit, Sony's Profit Drops 5%”, in New York Times:
      While PlayStation 3 surpasses both Wii and Xbox 360 in performance and graphics, the critics say it suffers from the same problem as many other Sony products: it is overengineered, scaring away average shoppers.
    • 2023 June 28, Sir Michael Holden, “Comment: 'There will be more Nunehams'”, in RAIL, number 986, page 3:
      Fortunately, the Victorians over-engineered their structures, as they didn't have the advantages we have now of a modern understanding of structural dynamics.