From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishoverlayo‧ver‧lay1 /ˌəʊvəˈleɪ $ ˌoʊvər-/ verb (past tense and past participle overlaid) [transitive] 1 to cover or be on top of somethingbe overlaid with something The wood is overlaid with silver.2 if one quality, sound etc overlays another, it is added to it and is often stronger or more noticeable The roar of the engines was overlaid by a loud banging.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
overlay• Then you overlay a secondary level of complex behavior that can emerge out of that bunch of working reflexes.• The legal action overlays an illegal and hidden set of interests.• The candour, the openness that had come from David's stubborn trust in himself had been overlaid by his new self-confidence.• Geological features ground out by ancient glaciers are seen overlaid by the scars of recent wind erosion.• Its steep sides are thronged with Goblin strongholds and its rocky slopes overlay caves and tunnels that are riddled with evil creatures.• a religious culture in which Buddhism overlays even older folk beliefs• The sound of water, when Ward rolled down his window, was a solid roar that overlaid everything.• The overt legitimate action overlays the covert set of intents.• A new menu box will appear on the screen, overlaying the main design area.• The semi-precious stones are partly overlaid with gold.be overlaid with something• Once illustrated, each backdrop design had to be overlaid with a precise grid pattern as an aid for the scenic artist.• Technical and safety arguments were overlaid with the issue of national technological pride.overlayo‧ver‧lay2 /ˈəʊvəleɪ $ ˈoʊvər-/ noun [countable] 1 COVERsomething which covers something else the brass fire surround with its decorative overlay2 CHANGE/BECOME DIFFERENTa transparent sheet with a picture or drawing on it which is put on top of another picture to change it3 ADDan additional quality or feeling sad stories with an overlay of humourExamples from the Corpus
overlay• On several occasions though the program also brought back a quantity of junk graphics suggesting that its overlay technique wasn't foolproof.• The organizational theorists who have championed the matrixing approach candidly label it an organizational overlay.• Folding is its essential property along an axis of symmetry so that the two halves make a perfect overlay.• The company prefers the overlay option because it provides more flexibility, a spokesman argued.• It seemed fruitful to articulate, to probe and carefully render the overlay of my scholastic past and my working present.• Kupfer added an unnecessary overlay of sexuality to the opera.• Programs that use overlays load these after first running.• If managers rely so heavily on verbal information, then that verbal information invariably arrives with an extra verbal overlay.• The Red Sea guide is illustrated with full colour aerial photographs with overlays showing suggested underwater routes. 