overqualified

adjective

over·​qual·​i·​fied ˌō-vər-ˈkwä-lə-ˌfīd How to pronounce overqualified (audio)
: having more education, training, or experience than a job calls for

Examples of overqualified in a Sentence

They didn't hire her because she was overqualified for the job.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
However, grads might have better luck pivoting into trade jobs and making peace with being overqualified and in debt than pining for the dream corporate job. Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 9 July 2025 Also more staff who are way overqualified to have these jobs. Whitney Friedlander, Vulture, 27 June 2025 That’s left a glut of overqualified workers competing for jobs that otherwise might have gone to recent graduates. Ben Kesslen, Quartz, 8 June 2025 Recently, there has been much discussion about how AI impacts the lack of hiring, how overqualified professionals have to rearrange their lives, and how rising income inequality is affecting the future of work. Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for overqualified

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overqualified was in 1953

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Overqualified.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overqualified. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

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