overshoot
/'ouvə'ʃu:t/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To go beyond or exceed a target, limit, or intended point: To pass or travel past a specific destination, objective, or mark, often unintentionally.
- To aim or estimate too high: To set a goal, expectation, or projection that is not achieved because it was set beyond a realistic or attainable level.
Usage and Examples
- Verb:
- The pilot was careful not to overshoot the runway during landing. (The pilot avoided landing the plane too far down the runway.)
- Our sales projections overshoot the actual market demand. (Our sales forecasts are higher than what the market actually wants.)
- Be careful with your estimates; it's easy to overshoot when you're optimistic. (Be cautious with your guesses because optimism can lead to overestimation.)
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- Technical/Engineering Context: Often used to describe a system's response that exceeds its desired setpoint before stabilizing.
- The thermostat caused the temperature to overshoot by two degrees before it adjusted.
- Figurative Use: Can describe exceeding any kind of boundary, such as a budget, deadline, or social norm.
- The film's budget overshot by millions of dollars.
- In his enthusiasm, he overshot the bounds of polite conversation.
Variants and Related Words
- Overshot (Verb, past tense and past participle): The form used for actions completed in the past.
- The arrow overshot the target completely.
- Overshooting (Verb, present participle/gerund): The act of exceeding a target.
- Overshooting the budget is a common problem in new projects.
Synonyms
- Exceed: To be greater than a number or amount.
- Surpass: To go beyond in amount, quality, or degree.
- Overrun: To go beyond a set limit, especially of time or cost.
- Overstep: To go beyond the limits of what is considered acceptable.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Idioms
- Overshoot the mark: To go beyond what is intended or appropriate; to overdo something.
- His criticism overshot the mark and became personally offensive. (His criticism went too far and became an attack on the person.)
Noun
- an approach that fails and gives way to another attempt
Verb
- aim too high
- The plan overshoots its aim
- shoot beyond or over (a target)