overlay

Other forms: overlaid; overlaying; overlays; overlayed

To overlay is to cover with a coating or a layer, or to set one thing on top of another. A winter storm will sometimes overlay a dangerously slick coating of ice on top of the road.

An artist might overlay a ceramic object with gold, or overlay one piece of paper on another in a collage. The layer itself, whether it's clear plastic or cement or silver, is also called an overlay. Another kind of overlay, dating from the 1930s, is the transparent sheet of paper in a book that covers a map or other full-page illustration.

Definitions of overlay

1. verb

   put something on top of something else
   synonyms: cover

   cover

   provide with a covering or cause to be covered

   types:

   splash

   mark or overlay with patches of contrasting color or texture; cause to appear splashed or spattered
2. verb

   kill by lying on
   “The sow overlay her piglets”

   synonyms: overlie

   type of:

   kill

   cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
3. noun

   a layer of decorative material (such as gold leaf or wood veneer) applied over a surface
   type of:

   decoration, ornament, ornamentation

   something used to beautify

   bed, layer

   single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance
4. noun

   protective covering consisting, for example, of a layer of boards applied to the studs and joists of a building to strengthen it and serve as a foundation for a weatherproof exterior
   synonyms: overlayer, sheathing

   type of:

   protection, protective cover, protective covering

   a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury