overwork
verb
over·work
| \ ˌō-vər-ˈwərk
\
\
overworked;
overworking;
overworks
Definition of overwork
1
: to cause to work too hard, too long, or to exhaustion
overworked the horses
2a
: to work too much on
overwork bread dough
b
: to make excessive use of
overworked tunes
: to work too much or too long : overdo
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Examples of overwork in a Sentence
The whole crew seemed exhausted, probably from overworking.
The captain routinely overworked the crew.
He overworks the melody in the song.
If you overwork the dough, the bread will be tough.
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Recent Examples on the Web
Their prowess ensures the correct amount of pressure is applied during the treatment, so your skin isn't overworked. — Taylore Glynn, Harper's BAZAAR, "Eight Skin-Transforming Secrets from a Korean Facialist," 22 Aug. 2019 Bell overworked his bullpen and that rent has come due. — Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc's Morning Line: It's time to be realistic and stop chasing fool's gold with these Reds," 22 July 2019 For years, Amazon’s critics have chided the company for underpaying and overworking warehouse employees. — Jay Greene, Washington Post, "Amazon’s strategy to win over congressional critics: tours of its giant warehouses," 22 Aug. 2019 Oakland’s bullpen was overworked in a long four-game series that included an extra inning win against the Houston Astros, and should benefit from Monday’s off day. — Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, "What A.J. Puk’s arrival could mean for the Athletics’ postseason push," 19 Aug. 2019 Do this recipe in 2-3 rounds so as not to overwork the blender. — NBC News, "4-ingredient strawberry ice cream you can make in a blender," 5 July 2019 Not trying to overwork him right now coming off the injury. — Fletcher Page, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Bengals' OTAs: New players impress, plays of the day and Joe Mixon gets reps," 4 June 2019 But team officials had for several days considered Allen a possibility if the bullpen was overworked in a four-game series in Colorado. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Padres pitching prospect Logan Allen to make major league debut Tuesday vs. Brewers," 17 June 2019 Pulse together a pie crust without the risk of overworking the dough or melting the butter. — Becky Krystal, The Seattle Times, "Meet your favorite kitchen helper: The food processor," 23 Oct. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'overwork.' 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 overwork
overwork
verb
English Language Learners Definition of overwork
: to work too hard
: to use (something) too much or too often
: to work on (something) too much
See the full definition for overwork in the English Language Learners Dictionary
overwork
verb
over·work
| \ ˌō-vər-ˈwərk
\
\
overworked;
overworking
Kids Definition of overwork
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: to work or cause to work too much or too hard
The captain overworked the crew.
2
: to use too much or too often
overworked phrases
overwork
nounKids Definition of overwork (Entry 2 of 2)
: too much work
They were exhausted from overwork.
overwork
transitive verb
over·work
| \ ˌō-vər-ˈwərk
\
\
Medical Definition of overwork
: to cause to work too hard, too long, or to exhaustion
: to work too much or too long
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