1. designed or built with more complexity, features, or precision than necessary for its intended purpose
Usage: informal; often used critically to suggest unnecessary complication

Examples

• The new coffee maker is overengineered; it has ten settings when most people just want hot water.
• Critics argued that the software was overengineered, making it slower and harder to use than simpler alternatives.
• The bridge design was overengineered for the light traffic it actually received.
• Some say modern smartphones are overengineered with features most users never touch.
• The team realized their solution was overengineered when a basic approach solved the problem just as well.
• That overengineered gadget broke down because it had too many moving parts.