diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index f6434828..2cb83fa1 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ export(osmdata_sf)
 export(osmdata_sp)
 export(osmdata_xml)
 export(overpass_status)
+export(overpass_trim)
 export(set_overpass_url)
 export(trim_osmdata)
 export(unique_osmdata)
diff --git a/R/getbb.R b/R/getbb.R
index 85ff84c2..399ebf8e 100644
--- a/R/getbb.R
+++ b/R/getbb.R
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ bbox_to_string <- function(bbox) {
 
     if (missing (bbox)) stop ("bbox must be provided")
 
+    if (is.null (bbox)) return (NULL)
+
     if (is.character (bbox))
         bbox <- getbb (bbox)
 
diff --git a/R/opq.R b/R/opq.R
index f5582b22..d32e5e9a 100644
--- a/R/opq.R
+++ b/R/opq.R
@@ -226,12 +226,8 @@ add_osm_feature <- function (opq,
     if (missing (key))
         stop ("key must be provided")
 
-    if (is.null (bbox) & is.null (opq$bbox))
-        stop ("Bounding box has to either be set in opq or must be set here")
 
-    if (is.null (bbox))
-        bbox <- opq$bbox
-    else {
+    if (!is.null (bbox)) {
         bbox <- bbox_to_string (bbox)
         opq$bbox <- bbox
     }
@@ -308,12 +304,7 @@ add_osm_features <- function (opq,
     if (missing (features))
         stop ("features must be provided")
 
-    if (is.null (bbox) & is.null (opq$bbox))
-        stop ("Bounding box has to either be set in opq or must be set here")
-
-    if (is.null (bbox))
-        bbox <- opq$bbox
-    else {
+    if (!is.null (bbox)) {
         bbox <- bbox_to_string (bbox)
         opq$bbox <- bbox
     }
@@ -492,6 +483,89 @@ opq_around <- function (lon, lat, radius = 15,
     return (res)
 }
 
+#' overpass_trim
+#'
+#' Retrive osm data within a bounding polygon insted of bbox.
+#'
+#' @param opq An `overpass_query` object
+#' @param osm_area A data.frame with bounding polygon obtained with
+#' `getbb (..., format_out = "data.frame")`.
+#' @param id Alternatively, bounding polygon can be specified by providing
+#' OSM object ID or list of IDs. Each of these objects must form closed polygon.
+#' @param type Type of OSM object or vector of types matching ids in `id`;
+#' either `way` or `relation`. Must be set when using `id`.
+#' @return \link{opq} object
+#'
+#' @note Restricts returned elemts to those that are found within defined area.
+#' This can be provided by OSM IDs and their type, or by providing data.frame 
+#' returned by \link{getbb}.
+#' If multiple areas are provided in `osm_area`, only the first one will be used.
+#'
+#' @references <https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Overpass_API/Overpass_QL#By_area_.28area.29>
+#' @seealso [trim_osm_data]
+#'
+#' @section `overpass_trim` vs `trim_osmdata`:
+#' overpass_trim allows filtering objects that are found within area defined by another object(s). 
+#' This object can be either any closed 'way' or certain 'relations' such as multipolygons, 
+#' admiinistrative boundaries. See Overpass documentation for more details.
+#' 
+#' trim_osmdata trims downloaded data with user defined polyon or one returned by \link{getbb}
+#'
+#' @family queries
+#' @export
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' \dontrun{
+#' a <- getbb("portsmouth usa", format_out = "data.frame")
+#' q <- opq() %>%
+#'         add_osm_feature(key = "amenity",
+#'                         value = "restaurant") %>%
+#'         overpass_trim(osm_area = a) %>%
+#'         osmdata_sf()
+#' 
+#' q <- opq() %>%
+#'        add_osm_feature(key = "natural",
+#'                        value = "tree") %>%
+#'        overpass_trim(id = c(11597767, 43437030), 
+#'                      type = c("relation", "way") ) %>%
+#'        osmdata_sf()
+#' }
+overpass_trim <- function (opq, osm_area = NULL, 
+                           id = NULL, type = NULL) {
+
+    if (is.null (osm_area) & is.null (id))
+        stop ("Either osm_area or id must be specified")
+
+    if (!is.null (osm_area) & !is.null (id))
+        stop ("Only one of osm_area or id must be specified")
+
+    if (!is.null (id) & is.null (type))
+        stop ("type must be specified: one of way, or relation")
+    
+    if (!is.null (type))
+        type <- match.arg (tolower (type), c ("way", "relation"), several.ok = TRUE)
+
+    if (!is.null (osm_area)){
+        if (nrow (osm_area) > 1)
+            message ("More than one area with matching name found: only the first is used")
+
+        id <- osm_area$osm_id [1]
+        type <- osm_area$osm_type [1]
+    }
+
+    if (length (id) != length (type))
+        stop ("Number of OSM IDs must match number of OSM object types")
+
+    opq$bbox <- NULL
+            
+    ways <- id [type == "way"]
+    rels <- id [type == "relation"]
+
+    opq$trim_area <- list (ways = ways, relations = rels)
+
+    opq
+}
+
 #' Convert an overpass query into a text string
 #'
 #' Convert an osmdata query of class opq to a character string query to
@@ -519,8 +593,16 @@ opq_string <- function (opq) {
 # specified.
 opq_string_intern <- function (opq, quiet = TRUE) {
 
+    if (is.null (opq$bbox) & is.null (opq$trim_area) & is.null (opq$id))
+        stop ("Either bbox must to be set in opq(), polygon needs to be specified in overpass_trim() or OSM ID must be provided in opq_osm_id()")
+
     lat <- lon <- NULL # suppress no visible binding messages
 
+    if (attr (opq, "nodes_only"))
+            ftype <- "node"
+        else
+            ftype <- "nwr"
+
     res <- NULL
     if (!is.null (opq$features)) { # opq with add_osm_feature
 
@@ -534,13 +616,8 @@ opq_string_intern <- function (opq, quiet = TRUE) {
                                 USE.NAMES = FALSE)
         }
 
-        if (attr (opq, "nodes_only")) {
-
-            features <- paste0 (sprintf (" node %s (%s);\n",
-                                         features,
-                                         opq$bbox))
 
-        } else if (!is.null (attr (opq, "enclosing"))) {
+        if (!is.null (attr (opq, "enclosing"))) {
 
             if (length (features) > 1)
                 stop ("enclosing queries can only accept one feature")
@@ -554,17 +631,36 @@ opq_string_intern <- function (opq, quiet = TRUE) {
                                 features,
                                 ";")
 
+        } else if (!is.null (opq$trim_area)) { # opq with polygon trimming
+
+            areas <- NULL
+
+            if (length(opq$trim_area$ways) != 0)
+                areas <- paste0 ("way(id:", 
+                                 paste0 (opq$trim_area$ways, collapse = ","),
+                                 ");\n", collapse = "")
+
+            if (length(opq$trim_area$relations) != 0)
+                areas <- paste0 (areas,
+                                 "rel(id:", 
+                                 paste0 (opq$trim_area$relations, collapse = ","),
+                                 ");\n", collapse = "")
+
+            opq$prefix <- paste0 (opq$prefix, 
+                                  areas, 
+                                  ");\n",
+                                  "map_to_area->.a;\n",
+                                  "(\n", collapse = "")
+         
+            features <- paste0 (ftype,
+                                features,
+                                "(area.a);\n", collapse = "")
+
         } else {
 
-            features <- paste0 (sprintf (" node %s (%s);\n",
-                                         features,
-                                         opq$bbox),
-                                sprintf (" way %s (%s);\n",
-                                         features,
-                                         opq$bbox),
-                                sprintf (" relation %s (%s);\n\n",
-                                         features,
-                                         opq$bbox))
+            features <- paste0 (ftype,
+                                features,
+                                "(", opq$bbox, ");\n", collapse = "")
         }
 
         res <- paste0 (opq$prefix,
@@ -585,9 +681,7 @@ opq_string_intern <- function (opq, quiet = TRUE) {
                      "burden on server resources.\nPlease consider specifying ",
                      "features via 'add_osm_feature' or 'opq_osm_id'.")
 
-        bbox <- paste0 (sprintf (" node (%s);\n", opq$bbox),
-                            sprintf (" way (%s);\n", opq$bbox),
-                            sprintf (" relation (%s);\n", opq$bbox))
+        bbox <- sprintf (" %s(%s);\n", ftype, opq$bbox)
 
         res <- paste0 (opq$prefix, bbox, opq$suffix)
     }
diff --git a/man/add_osm_feature.Rd b/man/add_osm_feature.Rd
index 3f19ee5b..d42aa3d1 100644
--- a/man/add_osm_feature.Rd
+++ b/man/add_osm_feature.Rd
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ Other queries:
 \code{\link{opq_osm_id}()},
 \code{\link{opq_string}()},
 \code{\link{opq}()},
-\code{\link{overpass_status}()}
+\code{\link{overpass_status}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_trim}()}
 }
 \concept{queries}
diff --git a/man/add_osm_features.Rd b/man/add_osm_features.Rd
index 260c7182..ca6958d6 100644
--- a/man/add_osm_features.Rd
+++ b/man/add_osm_features.Rd
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ Other queries:
 \code{\link{opq_osm_id}()},
 \code{\link{opq_string}()},
 \code{\link{opq}()},
-\code{\link{overpass_status}()}
+\code{\link{overpass_status}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_trim}()}
 }
 \concept{queries}
diff --git a/man/bbox_to_string.Rd b/man/bbox_to_string.Rd
index 17cc47c1..90577077 100644
--- a/man/bbox_to_string.Rd
+++ b/man/bbox_to_string.Rd
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ Other queries:
 \code{\link{opq_osm_id}()},
 \code{\link{opq_string}()},
 \code{\link{opq}()},
-\code{\link{overpass_status}()}
+\code{\link{overpass_status}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_trim}()}
 }
 \concept{queries}
diff --git a/man/getbb.Rd b/man/getbb.Rd
index bc382726..3bc7829b 100644
--- a/man/getbb.Rd
+++ b/man/getbb.Rd
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ Other queries:
 \code{\link{opq_osm_id}()},
 \code{\link{opq_string}()},
 \code{\link{opq}()},
-\code{\link{overpass_status}()}
+\code{\link{overpass_status}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_trim}()}
 }
 \concept{queries}
diff --git a/man/opq.Rd b/man/opq.Rd
index 97c80de2..ed6290e2 100644
--- a/man/opq.Rd
+++ b/man/opq.Rd
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ Other queries:
 \code{\link{opq_enclosing}()},
 \code{\link{opq_osm_id}()},
 \code{\link{opq_string}()},
-\code{\link{overpass_status}()}
+\code{\link{overpass_status}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_trim}()}
 }
 \concept{queries}
diff --git a/man/opq_around.Rd b/man/opq_around.Rd
index 985283bd..3a1d5b1a 100644
--- a/man/opq_around.Rd
+++ b/man/opq_around.Rd
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ Other queries:
 \code{\link{opq_osm_id}()},
 \code{\link{opq_string}()},
 \code{\link{opq}()},
-\code{\link{overpass_status}()}
+\code{\link{overpass_status}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_trim}()}
 }
 \concept{queries}
diff --git a/man/opq_enclosing.Rd b/man/opq_enclosing.Rd
index 70326428..e479be3b 100644
--- a/man/opq_enclosing.Rd
+++ b/man/opq_enclosing.Rd
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ Other queries:
 \code{\link{opq_osm_id}()},
 \code{\link{opq_string}()},
 \code{\link{opq}()},
-\code{\link{overpass_status}()}
+\code{\link{overpass_status}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_trim}()}
 }
 \concept{queries}
diff --git a/man/opq_osm_id.Rd b/man/opq_osm_id.Rd
index 8a35a270..1c4fa4de 100644
--- a/man/opq_osm_id.Rd
+++ b/man/opq_osm_id.Rd
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ Other queries:
 \code{\link{opq_enclosing}()},
 \code{\link{opq_string}()},
 \code{\link{opq}()},
-\code{\link{overpass_status}()}
+\code{\link{overpass_status}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_trim}()}
 }
 \concept{queries}
diff --git a/man/opq_string.Rd b/man/opq_string.Rd
index 3fcc8fe9..7bbb08aa 100644
--- a/man/opq_string.Rd
+++ b/man/opq_string.Rd
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ Other queries:
 \code{\link{opq_enclosing}()},
 \code{\link{opq_osm_id}()},
 \code{\link{opq}()},
-\code{\link{overpass_status}()}
+\code{\link{overpass_status}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_trim}()}
 }
 \concept{queries}
diff --git a/man/overpass_status.Rd b/man/overpass_status.Rd
index aeab381b..f414a6a2 100644
--- a/man/overpass_status.Rd
+++ b/man/overpass_status.Rd
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ Other queries:
 \code{\link{opq_enclosing}()},
 \code{\link{opq_osm_id}()},
 \code{\link{opq_string}()},
-\code{\link{opq}()}
+\code{\link{opq}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_trim}()}
 }
 \concept{queries}
diff --git a/man/overpass_trim.Rd b/man/overpass_trim.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..703d2cc1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/overpass_trim.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/opq.R
+\name{overpass_trim}
+\alias{overpass_trim}
+\title{overpass_trim}
+\usage{
+overpass_trim(opq, osm_area = NULL, id = NULL, type = NULL)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{opq}{An \code{overpass_query} object}
+
+\item{osm_area}{A data.frame with bounding polygon obtained with
+\code{getbb (..., format_out = "data.frame")}.}
+
+\item{id}{Alternatively, bounding polygon can be specified by providing
+OSM object ID or list of IDs. Each of these objects must form closed polygon.}
+
+\item{type}{Type of OSM object or vector of types matching ids in \code{id};
+either \code{way} or \code{relation}. Must be set when using \code{id}.}
+}
+\value{
+\link{opq} object
+}
+\description{
+Retrive osm data within a bounding polygon insted of bbox.
+}
+\note{
+Restricts returned elemts to those that are found within defined area.
+This can be provided by OSM IDs and their type, or by providing data.frame
+returned by \link{getbb}.
+If multiple areas are provided in \code{osm_area}, only the first one will be used.
+}
+\section{\code{overpass_trim} vs \code{trim_osmdata}}{
+
+overpass_trim allows filtering objects that are found within area defined by another object(s).
+This object can be either any closed 'way' or certain 'relations' such as multipolygons,
+admiinistrative boundaries. See Overpass documentation for more details.
+
+trim_osmdata trims downloaded data with user defined polyon or one returned by \link{getbb}
+}
+
+\examples{
+\dontrun{
+a <- getbb("portsmouth usa", format_out = "data.frame")
+q <- opq() \%>\%
+        add_osm_feature(key = "amenity",
+                        value = "restaurant") \%>\%
+        overpass_trim(osm_area = a) \%>\%
+        osmdata_sf()
+
+q <- opq() \%>\%
+       add_osm_feature(key = "natural",
+                       value = "tree") \%>\%
+       overpass_trim(id = c(11597767, 43437030), 
+                     type = c("relation", "way") ) \%>\%
+       osmdata_sf()
+}
+}
+\references{
+\url{https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Overpass_API/Overpass_QL#By_area_.28area.29}
+}
+\seealso{
+\link{trim_osm_data}
+
+Other queries: 
+\code{\link{add_osm_features}()},
+\code{\link{add_osm_feature}()},
+\code{\link{bbox_to_string}()},
+\code{\link{getbb}()},
+\code{\link{opq_around}()},
+\code{\link{opq_enclosing}()},
+\code{\link{opq_osm_id}()},
+\code{\link{opq_string}()},
+\code{\link{opq}()},
+\code{\link{overpass_status}()}
+}
+\concept{queries}