overview

Language: en

🇬🇧 /ˈəʊvəˌvjuː/ 🇺🇸 /ˈoʊvɜrˌvjuː/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    A general summary or comprehensive survey of a subject, providing the main points without going into detail.; A broad, comprehensive view or perspective of something, often from a high vantage point or at a distance.; A general inspection or examination of a situation, often used in business or military contexts to describe a strategic assessment.; In software and computing, a summary panel or window that displays a condensed representation of a larger document or workspace, allowing quick navigation.; The cognitive shift in awareness reported by astronauts when viewing Earth from space, characterized by a sense of the planet's fragility and unity, often called the 'overview effect'.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: overviews 3rd sing.: overviews Past: overviewed Past part.: overviewed Pres part.: overviewing

Collocations

give an overviewprovide an overviewbrief overviewgeneral overviewoverview ofcomprehensive overview

Synonyms

summaryoutlinesurveysynopsisrundownprécis

Antonyms

detailspecifics

Commonly confused

review
EN: 'Overview' is a broad general summary of a subject; 'review' is a critical evaluation or re-examination of something.
overlook
EN: 'Overview' means a general summary; 'overlook' means to fail to notice something or a vantage point.

Spelling tips

EN: Write 'overview' as one word, not 'over view' (two words).

💬 Examples

  1. The professor gave a brief overview of the course syllabus on the first day of class.

  2. From the hilltop, we had a stunning overview of the entire valley below.

  3. The CEO requested an overview of the company's financial position before making any decisions.

  4. The code editor's overview bar on the right side shows a miniature version of the entire file.

  5. Many astronauts have described experiencing a profound overview effect upon seeing Earth from orbit.