Definition of "overlie" []

• To lie over or on. (verb-transitive)
• To suffocate (a baby, for example) by accidentally lying on top of it. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "For example, surface drying of open tundra is restricted when non-transpiring mosses and lichens overlie the tundra."
• "Subsea relict permafrost is thought to contain or overlie large volumes of CH4 in the form of gas hydrates at depths of up to several hundred meters."
• "The ash hazard to aviation is not a rare possibility on a worldwide scale, given that many major air routes overlie the world's volcanically active regions."