overgrow

overgrow — verb

  • overgrowpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • overgrows3rd person singular
  • overgrowing-ing form
  • overgrewpast simple
  • overgrownpast participle

1. if plants overgrow a place or thing, they spread across it and cover it, often h

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

if plants overgrow a place or thing, they spread across it and cover it, often hiding what is underneath.

Example

Thick ivy had overgrown the back wall of Anong's old cottage.

subject = plant; object = surface being covered

Weeds and brambles had overgrown the gravel paths in the abandoned park.

plural plant subjects + paved object

Common collocations
  • ivy overgrows
  • weeds overgrow
  • moss overgrows
Synonyms
  • cover

    general; doesn't imply plant agent

  • blanket

    literary; emphasises a complete covering layer

  • engulf

    stronger; suggests swallowing up

Antonyms
  • clear

    remove the covering growth

Grammar Patterns

[plants] overgrow [object/surface]

Usage Note

Subject is almost always a plant or fungus; object is a surface, building, or path being hidden under growth. Distinguish from sense 2, which has no agent — the place itself becomes covered.

Common Mistakes

The garden overgrew the fence.
Ivy overgrew the fence.
the subject must be the plant doing the covering, not the place where it grows.

2. if a place overgrows, it gets filled with wild plants because no one has cut the

2.verbintransitiveC1
Definition

if a place overgrows, it gets filled with wild plants because no one has cut them back or taken care of it.

Example

The vegetable patch had overgrown in just two months while Tamás was away in Budapest.

intransitive; place as subject; neglect implied by time phrase

After the owners left, the front lawn quickly overgrew with dandelions and crabgrass.

intransitive + 'with [plant species]'

Common collocations
  • completely overgrown
  • wildly overgrown
  • overgrow with weeds
Synonyms
  • run wild

    informal; same meaning of unchecked growth

  • go to seed

    informal; emphasises decline through neglect

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

[place] becomes overgrown

[place] is overgrown with [plants]

Usage Note

Most often used in the past participle 'overgrown' as an adjective (an overgrown garden). Distinguish from sense 1: here no plant is named as agent — the place itself is the subject of the change.

Common Mistakes

My uncle overgrew the yard.
My uncle let the yard overgrow.
a person doesn't overgrow a place; the place overgrows on its own through neglect.

3. to grow taller than or extend beyond something else — for example, a hedge that

3.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to grow taller than or extend beyond something else — for example, a hedge that has stretched up past the wall behind it.

Example

The bamboo had overgrown the garden fence by nearly a metre.

transitive: subject A surpasses object B by measurement

Sunflowers in Eleni's backyard overgrew the kitchen window in a single season.

Common collocations
  • overgrow a fence
  • overgrow other plants
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

[A] overgrows [B] (= grows taller / further than B)

Usage Note

Formal or technical register, mainly used in horticulture and botany writing. The object is what the subject grows past in height or length, not what it covers (compare sense 1).

4. to develop to a bigger size or higher number than is normal or healthy, for exam

4.verbintransitiveC1
Definition

to develop to a bigger size or higher number than is normal or healthy, for example bacteria in the gut or a city beyond its planned limits.

Example

Dr. Adisa warned Joon that yeast can overgrow in the gut after long antibiotic treatment.

medical context with named doctor and patient

The pumpkins had overgrown so much that Hassan struggled to lift one off the vine.

individual organism becoming too large

Common collocations
  • bacteria overgrow
  • overgrow rapidly
  • overgrow into [area]
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

[organism/population] overgrows

Usage Note

Often used in biology, medicine, and urban-planning contexts where 'excessive' has a measurable baseline. Subject is typically the organism or population, not the place — distinguish from sense 2 where a place becomes filled with wild growth.

Common Mistakes

The garden overgrew the cabbages.
The cabbages overgrew this year.
in sense 4 the thing that grew too much is the subject, not the object.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

All four describe a place getting out of hand, but they differ in scope and register. 'Overgrow' focuses narrowly on plant growth — a garden, lawn, or path becoming choked with vegetation. 'Run wild' is informal and broader: it can describe plants, animals, or even children behaving without control ('the kids ran wild all summer'). 'Go to seed' is informal and carries a sense of decline — not just unchecked growth but a falling-off in quality, often used figuratively of people ('he's gone to seed since retirement'). 'Be neglected' is the most general and least vivid: it states the cause (no care) without telling us what the place now looks like. So if Eleni's old garden is choked with brambles, you'd say it has overgrown; if her ex-show dog is now scruffy and out of shape, he has gone to seed.

overgrow ↗run wild ↗go to seedbe neglected

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • become overgrown
  • let something overgrow
  • overgrow its boundaries

Prepositions

  • overgrow with
  • overgrow into

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Old English 'ofergrōwan' meaning 'to grow over', built from 'ofer' (over, beyond) and 'grōwan' (to grow). The compound has kept all three modern shades since at least the 12th century: physical covering (plants over a surface), surpassing in height, and growing past a normal limit. The 'become wild through neglect' sense, mostly carried today by the past participle 'overgrown', developed later as gardens and tended land became cultural reference points.