overwrite vs write

overwrite and write both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
overwrite	No	No	Yes	No
write	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, write is a hypernym of overwrite; that is, write is a word with a broader meaning than overwrite:

overwrite: write new data on top of existing data and thus erase the previously existing data
write: record data on a computer

Other hypernyms of overwrite include save.

overwrite (verb)	write (verb)
write new data on top of existing data and thus erase the previously existing data	communicate or express by writing
	record data on a computer
	contact in writing
	produce a literary work
	mark or trace words or symbols on a surface
	write or name the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word)
	write music
	create code, write a computer program