WordGarden.iooverdraw
A2Pronunciation
UK
US
- /ˈoʊvərˌdrɔ/
Meanings
Verb
to take or spend more money from a bank account than it contains
to portray or describe with exaggerated detail or emphasis
Beyond the definition
Imagine you have a jar of coins, but you keep paying for things after the jar is empty. That is essentially what it means to overdraw your bank account: to spend more money than is actually there. It can happen when a check, card payment, or automatic bill goes through even though your balance is too low. When that happens, the bank may cover the payment and charge a fee. The word can also be used more loosely for going past a limit, such as using up too much of someone's patience. Usually, the context makes it clear whether the situation is about money or about some other kind of limit.
To overdraw means to take or use more than is available. In everyday English, it is used most often in banking. If you overdraw your account, you spend more money than the account holds, and the account goes below zero. This may happen because of a check, a debit card purchase, an ATM withdrawal, or an automatic payment. In some cases the bank rejects the payment; in others it allows it and then charges an overdraft fee. For example: "She overdrew her account by twenty dollars and had to pay a fee."
By extension, the word can also be used for going past some other limit. Someone might say that a person has overdrawn their welcome, patience, or goodwill by asking for too much or pushing too far. There is also a less common art sense, where overdraw can mean drawing too heavily or adding too many lines. Across these uses, the central idea stays the same: taking, using, or pushing beyond what is available or reasonable.
Examples
- 1
Accidental overdraft
I accidentally overdrew my checking account when the rent payment went through early.
- 2
Bank fees
You may be charged a fee if you overdraw your account.
- 3
Account balance
My account is overdrawn by $42, so I need to transfer some money today.
- Patternoverdrawn by + amount
that amount below zero
- 4
Student banking
The bank lets students overdraw up to $100 without a penalty.
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Exaggerated description
The article overdraws the disagreement between the two candidates.
- Patternoverdraw + problem/disagreement
describe it as bigger or stronger than it really is
See also
Forms and spellings
5 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- overdrawverb
Forms
- overdrawnpast participleverb
- overdrawing-ing formverb
- overdrawsverb
- overdrewpast tenseverb