overview

USOH-ver-vyoo/ˈoʊ.vɚˌvjuː/UKOH-vuh-vyoo/ˈəʊ.vəˌvjuː/

Pluraloverviews

Verboverviews, overviewing, overviewed

4 meanings of overview

1
nouncountable
A short description of the main points of something, like a book or a talk.
The teacher gave us an overview of the book before we started reading.
Read these overviews first to see which report you need.
Similarsummary, outline, survey, synopsis, rundown
Note
2
verbtransitive
To give a short description of the main points of something.
Let me overview the plan before we start.
The guide overviews each part of the museum in a few lines.
Similarsummarize, outline, survey, review
3
nounrarecountable
A view of something from a high place.
The hot-air balloon gave us an overview of the whole valley.
From the top of the hill, we had an overview of the town below.
Similarview, panorama, vista
Note

Less common meaning

4
nounobsolete
A careful look at someone or something to check it.
The officer's overview of the soldiers took all morning.
Are we betray’d thus to thy over-view?
c. 1595, William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”Here, over-view means watching or inspecting someone closely.
Note

Use it in a sentence

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Origin

From over- and view.