Overwrites

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To replace data that has already been saved with new information
2. To record new content in place of content that was previously stored
3. Writes new information over previously saved data, erasing what was there before

Etymology: This is an inflected form, so it is the third-person singular present of "overwrite", a verb built from the prefix "over-" and the verb "write". "Over-" comes from Old English "ofer", which goes back to a Germanic root meaning "above" or "across", and it has been used in English to form compounds meaning "excessively" or "from one side to the other". "Write" is the older base, and the combination produced a verb meaning to write on top of, or in place of, something already written. In computing, the sense has narrowed: when a new file or piece of data is saved to a location already occupied by older data, the old content is replaced and lost.

Synonyms: replaces, supersedes, modifies, updates, amends

Antonyms: preserves, maintains, keeps, retains, protects