What does overbook mean?
To overbook is to accept or make more reservations, tickets, orders, or appointments than can realistically be fulfilled. The word is especially common in aviation, hotels, restaurants, and event management, where organizers may deliberately accept a small excess of bookings because some customers cancel or do not arrive. Overbooking is also used more critically when a service has sold more places than it has available. For example, an airline may overbook a flight to compensate for no-show passengers, though this can leave passengers without seats if everyone travels. In other settings, a restaurant or theatre may overbook reservations because it expects some customers not to appear. The word combines the prefix “over-” with “book,” reflecting the idea of booking beyond capacity. It is related to, but distinct from, “double-book,” which means assigning the same place or resource to two different people.
verbTo sell or accept more tickets, reservations, bookings, or orders than can be accommodated. It can also mean to reserve or book something in excess of the available capacity.
- To sell or accept more tickets, reservations, or bookings than can be accommodated.
- To book something in excess of the available capacity.
- To make reservations for more people or places than an event or service can hold.
"The airline overbooked the flight after several passengers cancelled their trips at the last minute."
"The hotel overbooked its rooms and had to redirect some guests to another property."
"Because the event was extremely popular, the organizers overbooked the auditorium and issued tickets with numbered entry times."
Airlines often overbook flights because some passengers fail to show up, but an overbooked flight can leave ticket holders stranded.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of overbook
“Overbook” is a modern English compound formed from the prefix “over-” and the verb “book.” The prefix expresses excess or excessive action, while “book” supplies the idea of reserving or recording in advance. Its development follows the broader use of “over-” to describe amounts beyond a normal or permitted limit. The verb ultimately belongs to a family including “booking,” “bookable,” “rebook,” and “bookmark,” all of which share the older sense of recording or committing something in writing.
Related word forms
How overbook is actually used
The term is especially common in travel and hospitality, but it can apply to any system in which reservations or orders exceed capacity. It often carries a mildly critical or cautionary connotation when service providers accept too many bookings.
Easily confused with overbook
To double-book is to reserve the same seat, room, appointment, or other resource for two people, whereas to overbook is to accept more reservations than the available capacity can accommodate.