What does overriding mean?
“Overriding” describes something that takes precedence over competing considerations, claims, instructions, or decisions. As an adjective, it commonly appears in expressions such as “overriding concern,” “overriding priority,” and “overriding objective,” indicating that the matter matters more than any competing issue in the situation. As a verb, it means to supersede or set aside a decision or rule, usually by invoking greater authority. The word is especially common in legal, administrative, business, and technical writing, where clear hierarchies of decision-making are important. It can also carry a sense of finality: an overriding instruction governs the situation unless it is itself changed through the proper process. The related verb is “override,” whose past tense is “overrode” and past participle is “overridden.”
More important than any competing consideration, or possessing authority to supersede a decision or instruction.
"The preservation of the building was the overriding concern during the restoration."
Often used with “concern,” “priority,” “objective,” “consideration,” and “factor.”
To supersede or set aside a decision, rule, instruction, or priority.
"The judge overrode the lower court's interpretation of the statute."
This is the present participle of “override” and is used formally in legal, administrative, and organizational contexts.
An overriding decision is the one that wins: it outranks competing rules, instructions, or considerations.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does overriding come from?
The word comes from the verb “override,” formed from the prefix “over-” and the noun “ride,” with the original sense referring to riding over or passing above something. The development toward the meaning of superseding or setting aside a decision is established in modern English. The present participle “overriding” follows the ordinary grammatical formation of the verb and is now used independently as an adjective.
Related word forms
How overriding is actually used
“Overriding” is formal and especially common in legal, administrative, organizational, and technical contexts. It can describe both a higher-priority consideration and the act of superseding a decision or rule.
Easily confused with overriding
Overriding generally refers to taking precedence over or superseding something, while overruling most often means specifically reversing or setting aside someone else's decision.
Overriding means to supersede a decision, rule, or instruction, whereas overwriting usually means replacing existing written or digital data with new data.