verb

verb: overwrite; 3rd person present: overwrites; past tense: overwrote; gerund or present participle: overwriting; past participle: overwritten; verb: over-write; 3rd person present: over-writes; past tense: over-wrote; gerund or present participle: over-writing; past participle: over-written

1. write on top of (other writing).
   "many names had been scratched out or overwritten"
   
   • COMPUTING
     destroy (data) or the data in (a file) by entering new data in its place.
     "an entry stating who is allowed to overwrite the file"
     
   • another term for overtype.
     
   
   
2. write too elaborately or ornately.
   "there is a tendency to overwrite their parts and fall into cliché"