go overboard

1. Show excessive enthusiasm, act in an excessive way. For example, It's easy to go overboard with a new stock offering, or She really went overboard, hiring the most expensive caterer. [Mid-1900s]

Example Sentences

Presentation does matter to a degree, but there’s no need to go overboard.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s clearly a passion project, and like many passion projects, it can go overboard at times, grow overstuffed, not to say oversolemn — though solemnity, to be sure, is appropriate to the history.

From Los Angeles Times

That said, there is a tendency to go overboard and over-interpret the long-term significance of any one election.

From Los Angeles Times

“Let’s not go overboard and be super worried about it. We’re going to be exposed to lots of things. If you’re concerned about lead, talk to your pediatrician, and get your child tested,” Kraft said.

From Los Angeles Times

“We go overboard because we haven’t learned how to temperate our appetite for memory.”

From Slate

Related Words

• exaggerate 
• overestimate 
• overplay 
• overrate 
• overreach 
• overstate 
• overuse 
• overvalue