overachiever

/ˌəʊvərəˈtʃiːvə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌəʊvərəˈtʃiːvər/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌō-vər-ə-ˈchē-vər/ (ame, mw)

overachiever — noun

1. a person whose results in school, work, or sport are clearly better than other p

1.名詞C1
釋義

a person whose results in school, work, or sport are clearly better than other people would have predicted from their starting ability — for example, the average student who graduates top of the class, or the small-town runner who wins a national race.

例句

Femi was an overachiever who finished his thesis a full year before his classmates.

subject complement: was an overachiever who + relative clause

The Watanabe family raised three overachievers who all became surgeons.

plural countable noun as direct object

同義詞
  • high-achiever

    neutral cousin; reports the high results without the surprise element

  • top performer

    workplace-focused; emphasises measurable output rather than results beating ability

  • outperformer

    more technical, common in finance and sports; the comparison is to a benchmark, not personal ability

反義詞
  • underachiever

    someone whose results sit clearly below what their ability would predict

  • slacker

    informal; describes someone avoiding effort, not just someone with low results

文法句型

a/an overachiever in [field]

overachiever at [school/work]

用法筆記

Subject is a person measured against a peer group with similar background or ability. Often paired with 'at' (school, a workplace) and 'in' (a field, sport, or club). Carries an admiring tone here — the result is the surprise, not the effort.

常見錯誤

❌Our new printer is a real overachiever.
✅Our new printer is a real top performer.
💡overachiever describes people, not machines or products.
❌She is an overachiever student.
✅She is an overachiever.' OR 'She is a high-achieving student.
💡the word is a noun and does not work as a modifier before another noun.

2. a person who pushes themselves so hard at work or study that the effort seems ex

2.名詞C1
釋義

a person who pushes themselves so hard at work or study that the effort seems excessive or unhealthy, often answering emails late at night or skipping meals to keep going.

例句

Nellie is such an overachiever that she replies to client emails at two in the morning.

intensifier frame: such an overachiever that + result clause

Don't be an overachiever about the holiday meal — the guests just want simple food.

informal advice frame: don't be an overachiever about

同義詞
  • workaholic

    stronger; focuses on the inability to stop working rather than the wish to outdo others

  • perfectionist

    shifts the focus to standards of quality, not raw amount of effort

  • try-hard

    informal and slightly mocking, common among younger speakers

反義詞
  • slacker

    informal; describes someone who avoids effort altogether

  • underachiever

    describes low results, not low effort — partial antonym only

文法句型

a/an overachiever

such an overachiever

用法筆記

Often used with a mild tease or worry rather than praise. Distinguish from sense 1: here the issue is the level of effort, not the results — an overachiever in this sense can still produce ordinary results despite working twice as hard.

常見錯誤

❌She got top grades because she is an overachiever.' (using sense 2 wording for a sense 1 meaning)
✅She got top grades because she is a real high-achiever.
💡when the focus is purely on great results, sense 1 'overachiever' or 'high-achiever' fits better than the 'tries too hard' reading.
❌Don't be a too much overachiever.
✅Don't be such an overachiever.
💡'such an' is the natural intensifier here, not 'too much'.