What does glutted mean?
Glutted is the past-tense and participial form of glut, a verb meaning to fill a market or another field with an excessive amount of something. It is especially common in economic language: a market glutted with goods is oversupplied, often to the point that prices fall. The word can also describe a person or creature stuffed beyond comfort, as in “glutted with food.” In these senses, glutted conveys excess rather than mere abundance: there is too much of a thing and the balance is disrupted. As a verb, glutted is the past tense and past participle; as an adjective, it describes the resulting state. The term is formal enough for economic and general prose but less common in everyday conversation than plain alternatives such as “oversupplied,” “saturated,” or “stuffed.”
To fill a market or other field excessively with something, or to feed someone to excess.
"Aggressive exporters glutted the market with low-priced goods."
The past tense and past participle of glut. It is particularly common in transitive and passive constructions involving markets, supply, or consumption.
Excessively supplied or filled; saturated, especially with goods, food, or another resource.
"The glutted market forced several manufacturers to reduce production."
The economic sense is dominant in contemporary usage. The food or consumption sense is less common and often figurative.
When a market is glutted, an abundance of goods becomes a business problem.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of glutted
Glutted was formed in English by adding the suffix -ed to glut, the base verb and noun. The noun comes through Middle English from Old French glut, meaning a swelling or excess. The verb's history is also associated with Old French gloutir, meaning to gulp down, explaining the older sense of eating or gorging to excess.
Related word forms
How glutted is actually used
The economic and market sense is the most familiar today. The food sense is older, less frequent, and often literary or figurative. As a verb, the form is normally used transitively or in a passive construction: the market was glutted with goods.