overextend
verb
over·ex·tend
| \ ˌō-vər-ik-ˈstend
\
\
overextended;
overextending;
overextends
Definition of overextend
: to extend or expand beyond a safe or reasonable point
especially
: to commit (oneself) financially beyond what can be paid
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Other Words from overextend
overextension
\ ˌō-vər-ik-ˈsten(t)-shən
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of overextend in a Sentence
He overextended a muscle in his arm.
Recent Examples on the Web
Oatly was a breakout star, catapulted from obscurity, who’d maybe accidentally overextended itself. — Rachel Sugar, Vox, "Oatly and the quest for the perfect alt-milk," 14 Aug. 2019 Chasing the dream can lure buyers to overextend themselves financially. — Washington Post, "The ‘good enough’ home may be just perfect," 6 Aug. 2019 The public healthcare system in Kenya is overextended, understaffed, and underfunded. — Annabelle Timsit, Quartz Africa, "Kenya hopes its first human milk bank will save infants’ lives," 13 Aug. 2019 Surely, The Conjuring stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga must’ve enjoyed a couple cheerful afternoons filming their overextended cameos in this prequel-sequel. — Darren Franich, EW.com, "Annabelle Comes Home pushes the Conjuring universe toward absurdity: EW review," 24 June 2019 Our investigation found the number of police provided through the state Village Public Safety Officer Program is at or near an all-time low; the few who remain are often unhappy and overextended. — Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, "ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network," 16 May 2019 But Britain stumbled during the Great War, Mr. Lambert argues, conscripting men into a continental army that overextended Britain while turning its focus away from the sea. — William Anthony Hay, WSJ, "‘Seapower States’ Review: Ruling Over the Seas," 23 Nov. 2018 Rosso, who’s financially overextended, faces a sentence of 137 years in jail. — Moira Hodgson, WSJ, "‘Little Culinary Triumphs’ and ‘Something Great and Beautiful’ Review: Staff of Life, Stuff of Farce," 14 Dec. 2018 The rest of the 28-member EU is overextended, stressed and geopolitically weak. — Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, "Charles de Gaulle Saw Brexit Coming," 21 Jan. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'overextend.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for overextend
overextend
verb
English Language Learners Definition of overextend
: to extend or stretch (something) too far
See the full definition for overextend in the English Language Learners Dictionary
overextend
transitive verb
over·ex·tend
| \ ˌō-və-rik-ˈstend
\
\
Medical Definition of overextend
: to extend too far
overextend the back
Other Words from overextend
overextension
\ -ˈsten-chən
\
noun
\
noun