overcapacity
noun
over·ca·pac·i·ty
| \ ˌō-vər-kə-ˈpa-sə-tē
, -ˈpa-stē\
, -ˈpa-stē\
Definition of overcapacity
: excessive capacity for production or services in relation to demand
Examples of overcapacity in a Sentence
The airlines are lowering their prices because of an overcapacity of seats.
Recent Examples on the Web
Thousands of fans turned up at an Anaheim hotel only to wait in the sun for hours without food or drink, ultimately turned away when the event was canceled due to overcapacity. — Los Angeles Times, "How do you make money off social media? Just ask ‘Jawline’s’ star," 23 Aug. 2019 Conditions were better at the Donna migrant detention facility, because that facility was not filled to overcapacity. — Sabrina Eaton, cleveland.com, "Rep. Anthony Gonzalez visits Mexico border with House Problem Solvers Caucus," 26 July 2019 Cheap loans made available by various levels of government, for example, have led to extreme overcapacity among electric-vehicle battery makers in the past couple of years, making the sector less viable. — Bob Davis, WSJ, "China Prepares Policy to Increase Access for Foreign Companies," 12 Dec. 2018 While Italy and Southern Europe is a problem of weak demand for cruise holidays, the German problem is one of overcapacity, or too much supply, Zackfia says. — Bernhard Warner, Fortune, "Yellow Vests, Brexit and Cruise Backlash: Why Carnival Can't Catch a Break in Europe," 24 June 2019 However, China’s growing debt levels, and concerns about overcapacity in a number of sectors, mean the country is unlikely to splash money as generously on projects as before. — Jane Li, Quartz, "Why China can’t rev up its economy now the way it did during the global recession," 15 July 2019 The engineering giant attributed the closing of the service center and layoffs to global energy market conditions and overcapacity in the company’s network. — Erin Douglas, Houston Chronicle, "Siemens lays off more workers as Houston plant closes," 28 June 2019 Several industrial sectors in China are experiencing overcapacity. — Erica E. Phillips, WSJ, "Today’s Logistics Report: Shoppers Skip the Mall; Trade War Disrupts; Huawei Exports Blocked," 11 Jan. 2019 Lufthansa on Sunday issued a profit warning, citing market overcapacity in Europe and competition from low-cost rivals. — Julia Horowitz, CNN, "Paris Air Show; Tariff pain; Stocks rise," 17 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'overcapacity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for overcapacity
overcapacity
noun
English Language Learners Definition of overcapacity
technical
: a situation in which an industry, company, etc., has or produces more of something than it is able to sell or use
See the full definition for overcapacity in the English Language Learners Dictionary