overburden
pronunciation
How to pronounce overburden in British English:
UK [ˌəʊvəˈbɜ:dn]
How to pronounce overburden in American English:
US [ˌoʊvərˈbɜrdn]
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- Noun:
- the surface soil that must be moved away to get at coal seams and mineral deposits
- an excessive burden
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- Verb:
- burden with too much work or responsibility
- load with excessive weight
Word Origin
- overburden (v.)
- also over-burden, "to put too much weight on," 1530s, from over- + burden (v.). Earliest uses are figurative. Related: Overburdened; overburdening.
Example
- 1. To overburden with tasks or work .
- 2. Suitability study of diaphragm wall in foundationtreatment with thick overburden layer .
- 3. Ecologists point out that a cluster of high-rise buildings in a city often overburden public transportation and parking-lot capacities .
- 4. However , locals strongly oppose such a population influx , saying it threatens to overburden the city 's hospitals and schools .
- 5. The united states says it will not participate because an additional test would overburden schools .