overmatchn.
/ˈəʊvəmatʃ/, /ˌəʊvəˈmatʃ/, U.S. /ˈoʊvərˌmætʃ/ 1. Superiority in strength or numbers; an instance of this; a contest in which one side is superior to the other. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [noun] > advantage over another
privilegec1390
advantagec1405
vantage1523
overmatch1542
odds1596
pull1781
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [noun] > greater number, majority
moeOE
unfewc1175
most?a1400
most forcea1400
substancea1413
overmatch1542
flush1592
the (great, vast) mass of1604
the millions1604
stream1614
numbers1638
the multiplicity of1639
majority1650
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 311v Tenne eagles to seuen is an ouermatche.
1590 C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 2nd Pt. sig. H8 Thou wouldst with ouermatch of person fight.
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. iv. 177 Yet were they not, as it happeneth in such ouermatches, spoiled of their riches.
a1634 A. Gardyne Theatre Scotish Worthies (1878) 19 Tho' o'rewhelm'd with ane o'rematch of men.
1975 Negro Amer. Lit. Forum 9 62/2 Could he have been a contender?.. His fourth bout, an overmatch arranged over Donatelli's objections, brings that answer.
1996 Internat. Security 21 166 Against an error-free defense, the..technology overmatch did not provide victory at very low losses.
2. A person who or thing which is more than a match for another. Usually with for or with preceding possessive adjective.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [noun] > better or superior person or thing
betterOE
unlikea1300
superior1537
overmatch1590
transcendent1613
go-by1823
outshiner1864
super-individual1911
1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall Ded. sig. A3 The greatest quarrellers meet often with their ouer-match.
a1617 J. Melville Mem. Own Life (1827) 33 Intending to eschew battaill gif he culd, the other [army] being ane ouermatche.
1668 J. Flavell Saint Indeed 63 Is he not an over-match for all his enemies?
1747 Fool (1748) II. 332 The French Privateers alone are quite an Over-match for..the British Navy.
1788 J. Madison Federalist Papers xli. 40 The veteran legions of Rome were an overmatch for the undisciplined valour of all other nations.
1845 W. Napier Conquest Scinde ii. v. 229 Having to deal with a man his over-match in policy.
1896 C. G. D. Roberts Forge in Forest x. 127 I accounted that we were an overmatch for the four redskins.
1902 A. B. Paterson Rio Grande's Last Race 83 A third-class pro is an over-match for the best of the amateurs.
1989 E. S. Morgan Inventing People 160 But her soldiers, her land forces proved an overmatch for nobody.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
overmatchv.
/ˌəʊvəˈmatʃ/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈmætʃ/ 1. † b. transitive. To provide with something that is more than a match. Obsolete. rare.
a. transitive. To be more than a match for; to defeat by superior strength, skill, or craft; to surpass, excel. Also: to pit against a superior adversary.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (transitive)]
overstyeOE
overshinec1175
overgoc1225
passc1225
surmountc1369
forpassc1374
overmatcha1375
overpassa1382
to pass overa1393
overcomec1400
outpass?a1425
exceedc1425
precedec1425
superexcelc1429
transcendc1430
precel?a1439
outcut1447
overgrowc1475
to come over ——a1479
excel1493
overleapa1500
vanquish1533
outweigh1534
prevent1540
better1548
preferc1550
outgo1553
surpassa1555
exsuperate1559
cote1566
overtop1567
outrun1575
outstrip1579
outsail1580
overruna1586
pre-excel1587
outbid1589
outbrave1589
out-cote1589
top1590
outmatch1593
outvie1594
superate1595
surbravec1600
oversile1608
over-height1611
overstride1614
outdoa1616
outlustrea1616
outpeera1616
outstrikea1616
outrival1622
antecede1624
out-top1624
antecell1625
out-pitch1627
over-merit1629
outblazea1634
surmatch1636
overdoa1640
overact1643
outact1644
worst1646
overspana1657
outsoar1674
outdazzle1691
to cut down1713
ding1724
to cut out1738
cap1821
by-pass1848
overtower1850
pretergress1851
outray1876
outreach1879
cut1884
outperform1937
outrate1955
one-up1963
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)]
overcomeeOE
forecomec1000
overwieldlOE
masterc1225
overmaistrie1340
overmatcha1375
overpassa1382
surmount1390
to have the fairer (of)c1400
maistriec1400
overmasterc1425
winc1440
overc1485
bestride1526
rixlec1540
overreach1555
control1567
overmate1567
govern1593
to give (a person) the lurch1598
get1600
to gain cope of1614
top1633
to fetch overa1640
down1641
to have the whip hand (of)1680
carberry1692
to cut down1713
to be more than a match for1762
outflank1773
outmaster1799
outgeneral1831
weather1834
best1839
fore-reach1845
to beat a person at his (also her, etc.) own game1849
scoop1850
euchrec1866
bemaster1871
negotiate1888
to do down1900
to get (someone) wetc1926
lick1946
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 1216 (MED) So was he ouer-macched, þat þei wiþ fyn force..woundede him wikkedly.
c1395 G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale 1220 I haue a wyf the worste that may be, For thogh the feend to hire ycoupled were, She wolde hym ouermacche, I dar wel swere.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 700 Be a man never so valyaunte nother so bygge but he may be overmatched.
1568 Queen Elizabeth I Let. to Mary Queen of Scots 21 Dec. in H. Campbell Love Lett. Mary Queen of Scots (1824) App. 56 Ye have not any in loyaltie and faithfulnes can overmatch him.
1588 in Harl. Misc. (Malham) II. 73 Ships of war..whose service was seen this year to have overmatched the great Armadas and castles of Spain and Italy.
1641 J. Trapp Theologia Theol. 81 A treasury of heavenly comforts, such as no good can match, no evill overmatch.
1677 U. Oakes Elegie Death Rev. Thomas Shepard 4 Here's worth enough to overmatch the skill Of the most stately Poet Laureat's Quill.
1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. ii. 280 The valiant few o'ermatch an host of foes.
1768 H. Brooke Fool of Quality III. xvi.162 They have made choice of their best Means to overreach and overmatch us.
1812–13 P. Egan Boxiana I. 98 Tom, finding he was over-matched, was obliged, for the first time in his life, to have recourse to shifting to prevent his being beat straight forward.
1870 D. Rock Textile Fabrics (S. Kensington Mus.) 206 The combination..of its two colours in such a way that neither overmatches the other.
1938 W. B. Yeats Herne's Egg iv. 36 Tara knew that he was overmatched; Knew from the start he had no chance.
1952 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 57 467/1 Many managers abuse their fighters so as to make money quickly. They may overmatch them with superior fighters.
2003 Fulton County Daily Rep. (Nexis) 13 Jan. Their resources overmatch even the wealthiest defendant.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > inequality > [verb (transitive)] > overmatch
overmatch1567
1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) viii. f. 99 He knits A rowe of fethers one by one..ouermatching still eche quill with one of longer sort.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > a marriage > [verb (transitive)] > marry to social superior
overmatch1632
1632 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 4) iii. ii. v. v. 584 If a yeoman haue one sole daughter, hee must ouer match her, aboue her birth and calling to a gentleman forsooth.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1542v.a1375