overall
noun · adverb · adjective
Simple meaning
A loose protective coverall or smock worn over ordinary clothing for dirty work.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ohverawlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈoʊvɚɔl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
British
A loose protective coverall or smock worn over ordinary clothing for dirty work
british
A garment worn over other clothing to protect it; a coverall or boiler suit. A garment, for manual labor or for casual wear, often made of a single piece of fabric, with long legs and a bib upper, supported from the shoulders with straps, and having several large pockets and loops for carrying tools.
in the pluralUS
A garment, worn for manual labor, with an integral covering extending to the chest, supported by straps.
adverb
Generally; with everything considered.
adjective
All-encompassing, all around.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A loose protective coverall or smock worn over ordinary clothing for dirty work
Used this way, overall is a word tied to one variety of English that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. Most speakers understand it but seldom reach for it.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Regional
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Uncommon in everyday speech
Usage note
Mainly used in British English, so it may read as unusual elsewhere.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use overall
- “Overall, the event was a great success despite a few minor issues.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.