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- DictionaryO·ver·lay
verb
- 1. cover the surface of (something) with a coating: "their fingernails were overlaid with silver or gold"
- 2. (of a quality or feeling) become more prominent than (a previous quality or feeling): "his openness had been overlaid by his new self-confidence"
noun
- 1. something laid as a covering over something else: "a durable, cost-effective floor overlay"
- 2. the process of transferring a block of program code or other data into internal memory, replacing what is already stored.
5 days ago · If something is overlaid with a feeling or quality, that feeling or quality is the most noticeable one, but there may be deeper and more important ones involved. ...a surge of feeling which at this moment overlaid all others. [VERB noun] Overlay is also a noun .
To overlay is to cover with a coating or a layer, or to set one thing on top of another. A winter storm will sometimes overlay a dangerously slick coating of ice on top of the road. An artist might overlay a ceramic object with gold, or overlay one piece of paper on another in a collage.
overlay something (with something) (literary) to add something, especially a feeling or quality, to something else so that it seems to cover it. The place was overlaid with memories of his childhood. See overlay in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Check pronunciation: overlay.
a thing that is laid on top of or covers something else. an overlay of fibreglass insulation. See overlay in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Check pronunciation: overlay. Definition of overlay noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
Britannica Dictionary definition of OVERLAY. 1. : material that covers the complete surface or part of the surface of something and that changes its appearance. [noncount] a silver ring with gold overlay. [count] The wooden table has a marble overlay. — often used figuratively.
v.t. to lay or place (one thing) over or upon another. to cover, overspread, or surmount with something. to finish with a layer or applied decoration of something: wood richly overlaid with gold. Printing to put an overlay upon. n. something laid over something else; covering.
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English o‧ver‧lay1 /ˌəʊvəˈleɪ $ ˌoʊvər-/ verb (past tense and past participle overlaid) [ transitive] 1 to cover or be on top of something be overlaid with something The wood is overlaid with silver. 2 if one quality, sound etc overlays another, it is added to it and is often stronger or more noticeable Th...
