Definition

1. Noun:

   • An excessive supply; a quantity supplied that is greater than the quantity demanded or needed. This leads to a surplus, often causing a decrease in price or value.

2. Verb:

   • To supply with an excessive amount; to provide more of something than is needed or demanded. This action can saturate a market or system.

Examples

• Noun:

  • The oversupply of new apartments caused rents to drop significantly.
  • An oversupply of graduates in that field made it difficult to find a job.

• Verb:

  • The company oversupplied the market, leading to massive discounts to clear inventory.
  • Farmers were warned not to oversupply the crop, or prices would collapse.

Advanced Usage

• "to create an oversupply": to cause a situation where there is too much of something available.

  • Rapid technological advancement can create an oversupply of older electronic devices.

• "an oversupply situation": a condition or state characterized by excess supply.

  • The city is facing an oversupply situation in office space.

Variants and Related Words

• Glut (noun/verb): A synonym meaning an excessive supply or to overfill.
  • The glut of oil on the global market drove prices down.
• Surplus (noun): An amount that is more than what is needed or used.
  • The budget surplus was returned to the taxpayers.
• Overabundance (noun): An excessive quantity.
  • There was an overabundance of caution after the incident.

Synonyms

• Noun: Surplus, excess, glut, overabundance, superfluity.
• Verb: Flood, glut, saturate, overload.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Phrases

• Flood the market with: To supply the market with a very large amount of something, often causing an oversupply.
  • The manufacturer flooded the market with cheap imports.

Related Idioms

• A buyer's market: A situation in which goods are plentiful and prices are low, often due to an oversupply.
  • The oversupply of houses has created a buyer's market.

Noun

1. the quality of being so overabundant that prices fall

Verb

1. supply with an excess of
   • flood the market with tennis shoes
   • Glut the country with cheap imports from the Orient