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# overriding

«overriding» in Mova's school dictionary: **adjective: More important than anything else: "Safety is…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (overriding); also the -ing form of the verb override (override, overrides, overrode, overridden, overriding)

### meaning for a pupil

1) adjective: More important than anything else: "Safety is the overriding concern." [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overriding/#m1)

2) verb form: Cancelling or taking control of a decision, setting or machine, as in "overriding the alarm" or "overriding a rule". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overriding/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In formal writing and the news, "the overriding aim / concern / priority" means the most important one. In computing and machines, overriding a setting means taking manual control. In school rules, a teacher may be overriding an earlier decision. Phrases: overriding concern, overriding importance, overriding priority.

### examples

- Safety is the overriding concern on a school trip. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overriding/#x1)
- Her overriding wish was to see her grandmother again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overriding/#x2)
- The pilot was overriding the autopilot to land the plane. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overriding/#x3)
- Winning was not the overriding aim; having fun was. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overriding/#x4)
- The head teacher is overriding the old rule about phones. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overriding/#x5)
- Of overriding importance is that everyone gets home safely. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overriding/#x6)

### note

"Overriding" (most important) is quite formal. The verb is irregular: override, overrode, overridden. Do not confuse with "overwriting" (writing over something, like saving over a file).

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «overriding» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overriding/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.