overlap: Meaning and Definition of

o•ver•lap

Pronunciation: (v.ō"vur-lap'n.ō'vur-lap"), [key]
— v., n. -lapped, -lap•ping,
—v.t.
  1. to lap over (something else or each other); extend over and cover a part of; imbricate.
  2. to cover and extend beyond (something else): The ends of cloth overlap the table.
  3. to coincide in part with; have in common with: two lives that overlapped each other.
—v.i.
  1. to lap over: two sales territories that overlap; fields of knowledge that overlap.
—n.
  1. an act or instance of overlapping.
  2. the extent or amount of overlapping: The second story of the building has an overlap of ten feet.
  3. an overlapping part.
  4. the place of overlapping.
  5. (in yacht racing) the position of two yachts side by side such that the overtaking boat, to pass the other on the opposite side, must fall back, or such that neither can turn toward the other without danger of collision.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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