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be overkill
名词用法，不可数，表示“做得过头、没有必要”。
Adding a second alarm clock would be overkill; you already wake up early.
再买一个闹钟就太过了；你本来就醒得早。
过火；多余；小题大做
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
过火；多余；小题大做
effort or activity that goes further than necessary to achieve its goal
Adding a second alarm clock would be overkill; you already wake up early.
再买一个闹钟就太过了；你本来就醒得早。
不必要的过度；过火。
An unnecessary excess of whatever is needed to achieve a goal.
因检验标准过高而造成的过度淘汰。
An unnecessary excess of disposal because of too high criteria of inspection.
Sending a formal letter to complain about a minor typo is overkill.
为了一个小错别字而发正式投诉信，实在是太小题大做了。
We don't need a huge party for your birthday; a small dinner is enough, and a big celebration would be overkill.
你的生日不需要办大派对，小聚餐就够了，大张旗鼓庆祝反而过火。
Buying a professional camera just to take pictures of your cat is overkill.
只是为了给猫拍照就买专业相机，有点过度了。
名词用法，不可数，表示“做得过头、没有必要”。
Adding a second alarm clock would be overkill; you already wake up early.
再买一个闹钟就太过了；你本来就醒得早。
名词用法；在“consider + 宾语 + overkill”结构中作宾语补足语。
Many people consider a bigger engine overkill for a small city car.
很多人认为小型城市汽车配备更大的发动机是多余的。
动词用法，较少见，意为“用超过需要的火力杀伤或摧毁”。
The pilot refused to overkill the abandoned target.
飞行员拒绝过度杀伤那个已被弃置的目标。
Not this
The security measures are overkilled.
Use this
The security measures are overkill.
overkill 是名词而不是动词或形容词，表达“太过分、多余”时应使用 be overkill 结构；动词 overkill 只表示过度杀伤。
Not this
This is an overkill.
Use this
This is overkill.
overkill 作“过分、多余”讲时是不可数名词，不能加不定冠词 a/an。
Not this
They overkilled the decorations.
Use this
The decorations were overkill.
动词 overkill 的意思是过度杀伤，不能表示“把某事做得过头”；表达这个比喻义需要用名词 overkill，可说 be overkill。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
核过度杀伤；核超量毁伤
Critics argued that maintaining so many warheads was nuclear overkill.
批评者认为，保留这么多弹头是核过度杀伤。
营销过度；过度的营销宣传
The product launch suffered from marketing overkill and put off consumers.
这款产品的发布因营销过度而让消费者反感。
是过火的；是多余的；没有必要
Using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut would be overkill.
用大锤砸核桃就太过了。
媒体过度报道；媒体轰炸
The celebrity's wedding got media overkill for weeks.
这位名人的婚礼连续几周遭到媒体过度报道。
监管过度；过度的监管
Small businesses often complain about regulatory overkill.
小企业经常抱怨监管过度。
过犹不及；做得过头的事
Adding sugar to this already sweet cake is a case of overkill.
给这个已经很甜的蛋糕再加糖，是过犹不及。
做得过火；过度施为
Don't go overkill on the spices; the dish will be too strong.
香料别放得太过火，菜会太冲。
对某事物做过头
Police presence at the small protest seemed like overkill on a minor issue.
在小型抗议活动中部署大量警力，对一件小事来说似乎有些小题大做。
也许这就过头了。（出自Men at Work乐队1983年的歌曲《Overkill》）
Using a flamethrower to clear a cobweb is overkill.
用喷火器清理蜘蛛网简直是小题大做。
Use overkill naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
over(过度)+kill(杀)→杀得过头了，火力过剩，引申为‘过火、多余’。
语域：informal 常见场景：日常交谈、媒体评论、非正式讨论 作名词表示“过火、多余、小题大做”时，多用于非正式场合，指做法超过实际需要；日常口语和媒体评论中比较常见。
这六个词都有 /ɪl/ 的结尾音，和 overkill 的最后一个音节 /kɪl/ 中的元音和尾辅音一致。注意 overkill 的重音在第一个音节，所以这些词并不会和整个 overkill 形成完美押韵。拼写相似的 kilo（/ˈkiːloʊ/）和 kiln（/kɪln/）发音不同，注意区分。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.