Overcramming

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Stuffing far more people, items, or tasks into a space or timetable than it can reasonably hold
2. Filling a room, bag, or schedule beyond its sensible limit so that nothing has room to breathe
3. Packing excessive material or activity into a limited container or period, leaving it crowded and overloaded

Etymology: "Overcramming" is the present participle and gerund of "overcram", which is formed from the prefix "over-" and the verb "cram". "Cram" is an older English word, long used for stuffing something full, and "over-" adds the sense of doing this to excess, so an overcram is to pack something beyond what it can reasonably hold. The pairing is straightforward: "over-" attached to a verb to mean too much or beyond a limit, as in "overeat" or "overwork". The result describes the act of filling a space, a schedule, or a mind past its capacity. Because "cram" has taken on a second meaning of intensive last-minute study, "overcramming" can describe both physical packing and an overloaded study or work timetable.

Synonyms: overloading, overstuffing, cramming, overfilling, packing

Antonyms: emptying, unloading, vacating