overboard

IPA/ˈəʊvəbɔːd/
KK[ˈovɚbˌɔrd]IPA/ˈəʊvərbɔːrd/

overboard — adverb

1. past a vessel's edge and down into the water

1.adverbC2
Definition

past a vessel's edge and down into the water

Example

Lee's hat blew overboard in the strong wind.

inanimate subject + movement verb

A wave knocked one fisherman overboard before the rescue boat arrived.

pattern: knock somebody overboard

Common collocations
  • fall overboard
  • go overboard
  • be knocked overboard
  • be swept overboard
  • throw somebody overboard
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • aboard

    means on or onto the boat, not in the water

Grammar Patterns

fall/go/be knocked + overboard

throw somebody/something + overboard

Usage Note

Usually follows verbs like fall, go, knock, throw, or sweep. For the figurative idea of becoming too excited or extreme, English more often uses the idiom go overboard.

Common Mistakes

The crowd went overboard when the band came on stage.
The crowd got carried away when the band came on stage.
This entry is the literal 'into the water' meaning; the excited meaning belongs to the idiom 'go overboard'.
Idioms

go overboard

idiom

To do or use too much of something because you are very excited.

Maya went overboard buying decorations for the party.

Don't go overboard with the salt in the soup.

throw somebody/something overboard

idiom

To stop using or supporting someone or something because they are no longer useful.

The company threw the old software overboard after the update.

Diego threw his old friends overboard when he got famous.

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

For this literal sea-travel sense, overboard is the usual word when a person or thing leaves a boat and ends up in the water. Over the side is very close, but it focuses more on the direction and is often used in longer descriptions. Into the water is broader and can describe falling from a bridge, river bank, or pool edge, so it does not automatically suggest a boat. Aboard is the opposite idea: it means on or onto the boat, not in the water. Compare: The sailor fell overboard during the storm. The children stayed aboard while the captain checked the rope.

over the sideinto the wateraboard ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Overboard is a compound of over and board. In older English, board could mean the side or wooden structure of a ship. The word therefore first described going over the ship's side and into the water, and that physical meaning is still the core one today.