overkill
UK /ˈəʊ.vəˌkɪl/ · US /ˈoʊ.vɚˌkɪl/ noun, verb
Forms overkills overkilling overkilled
- noun (literally, military) A destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemy; especially with nuclear weapons.
- noun (literally) Destruction beyond what is necessary to kill, especially in murder.
- noun (by extension) An unnecessary excess of whatever is needed to achieve a goal. “24 hours of TV coverage of the US election verged on overkill.”
- noun (manufacturing) An unnecessary excess of disposal because of too high criteria of inspection.
- verb (transitive) To destroy something with more (nuclear) force than is required.
- verb (manufacturing) To dispose of too many items because of too-high criteria of inspection.
- verb To do something excessive to achieve a goal.
Antonyms
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “overkill”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details