overmatch

English

Etymology

From Middle English overmacchen, equivalent to over- +‎ match.

Verb

1. To match more than intended.

   The regular expression overmatched, capturing the entire paragraph instead of the specific sentence.

2. To be more than equal to or a match for, to surpass; hence, to conquer, vanquish.
   • Michael Drayton

     At Lemster, for whose wool whose staple doth excell,

     And seems to overmatch the golden Phrygian fell.

3. To marry to a superior.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Burton to this entry?)

Derived terms

• overmatched

Noun

overmatch (plural overmatches)

1. A match in which one opponent is greatly superior to the other.
   • 1748, David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding^[1], 2007 Oxford ed., ¶13:

     […] we can increase the velocity of that force, so as to make it an overmatch for its antagonist.

2. An opponent who is more than a match for another; one who cannot be defeated.

Translations

a match

• Portuguese: batalha (pt) f perdida (pt)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Antonyms

• undermatch