Does function/method overriding occurs only when polymorphism is implemented in java?
00:20 01 Feb 2026

I am trying to clarify the relationship between Method Overriding and Polymorphism in Java.

From my understanding, overriding happens when a subclass provides its own implementation of a method inherited from a parent class. However, is it accurate to say that overriding only occurs when polymorphism is being implemented? Or are these two distinct concepts that just happen to overlap?

Specifically, I’d like to know:

  1. Is overriding considered a subset/type of polymorphism (Runtime Polymorphism)?

  2. Can you have overriding in a program without "using" polymorphism in a practical sense?

Could someone provide a clear code example that demonstrates how overriding facilitates polymorphism in Java?

java polymorphism overriding