Overgrown means covered with plants that have grown too thick, wild, or tall, usually because no one has trimmed or maintained them. An overgrown garden might have weeds taller than your waist, vines crawling over the fence, and bushes blocking the path. An overgrown baseball field could have grass so long that you can barely see the bases.

The word captures that sense of nature taking over when humans stop maintaining a space. An abandoned house might have an overgrown yard where roses run wild and ivy climbs the walls. Even a lawn can become overgrown after just a few weeks without mowing.

Overgrown can also describe someone who seems too big for their age, like an overgrown puppy whose paws are enormous and gangly. Sometimes kids call their older siblings overgrown children when they're acting immature.

The key idea is excess: growth beyond what's expected, needed, or manageable. Whether it's a forest trail disappearing under overgrown ferns or hedges blocking your neighbor's windows, overgrown suggests that growth has crossed the line from healthy to uncontrolled.