overstay

/'ouvə'stei/

Thân thiện

The guest overstays his welcome at the dinner party.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To remain in a place beyond the expected, permitted, or appropriate time of departure. It implies exceeding a welcome, a visa limit, or a scheduled duration.

Usage

• Transitive verb: Typically used with an object like "one's welcome" or a specific time period.
• Intransitive verb: Can be used without a direct object when the context is clear.
• The action is generally viewed negatively, as it often involves a social breach or a legal violation.

Examples

• Verb:
  • We don't want to overstay our welcome, so we'll leave after dinner.
  • The tourist was fined for overstaying his visa by three months.
  • If you overstay the parking meter, you might get a ticket.

Advanced Usage

• "to overstay one's welcome": This is the most common idiomatic usage. It means to remain as a guest longer than the host desires or finds comfortable.
  • After the third day, I began to worry that we were overstaying our welcome.

Variants and Related Words

• Overstayer (noun): A person who overstays, especially a visa.
  • The government is cracking down on overstayers.

Synonyms

• Outstay: Often used interchangeably, especially in the phrase "outstay one's welcome."
• Linger (beyond): To stay longer than intended, though with a less formal or legal connotation.

Related Phrasal Verbs / Constructions

• Overstay by [period of time]: Used to specify the duration of the overstay.
  • He overstayed by two weeks.

Related Idioms

• Overstay/Outstay one's welcome: As detailed in 'Advanced Usage'.

Học thuật

Verb

1. stay too long
   • overstay or outstay one's welcome

Từ đồng nghĩa

• outstay