Origin: Germanic Old English prefix
Overweight has 5 different meanings across 2 categories:
the property of excessive fatness
"The doctor advised him to exercise more because his current lifestyle was leading to an unhealthy amount of body fat."
An excess of weight.
"The doctor advised him to lose some weight because he has become slightly overweight due to a lack of exercise and poor diet choices."
To weigh down: to put too heavy a burden on.
"The new responsibilities seemed to overweight her already busy schedule, making it difficult for her to find time for herself."
In plain English: To be overweight as a verb means to gain too much weight on your body.
"The hiker became overweight after carrying too much extra gear up the mountain."
usually describes a large person who is fat but has a large frame to carry it
"The coach reassured the new player that his naturally large frame made him look overweight when he first joined the team."
Having a higher weight, especially body fat, than what is generally considered healthy for a given body type and height.
"After years of poor dietary choices, he finally decided to lose the excess weight that made him overweight despite his athletic frame."
In plain English: Overweight means having more body fat than is considered healthy for your height and age.
"The doctor advised him to eat healthier because he was becoming overweight."
Usage: Use "overweight" as an adjective before a noun or after the verb to be, but avoid using it predicatively with other verbs like "is overweighted." Do not confuse this term with "obese," which denotes a more severe medical condition, unless you are specifically distinguishing between general excess weight and clinical obesity.
This word combines the prefix over- with weight to describe something that is too heavy. It literally means having more weight than is appropriate or desired.