over·uti·lize
ˌō-vər-ˈyü-tə-ˌlīz 
overutilized; overutilizing
: to utilize (something) too much : to use (something) excessively or too frequently
overutilizing medical services
overutilizes credit cards
overutilization
noun
plural overutilizations
The main reason for our rising health care costs had been overutilization …
—
Bryan Burklow
Bryan Burklow
over·uti·li·za·tion
¦ō-vər-ˌyü-tə-lə-¦zā-shən
-ˌlī-¦zā-
variants
also British overutilisation
: excessive utilization : overuse
… suggests that the best way to curb overutilization of health care may be to shift more of the financial burden to workers.—Janice Castro et al., Time, 1 Feb. 1988
Janice Castro et al., Time, 1 Feb. 1988
overutilize
transitive verb
also British overutilise
overutilized; overutilizing; overutilizes
According to another study … exercise is underutilized, while drugs, especially potentially addictive narcotic pain medications, are overutilized.
—Food & Fitness Advisor, July 2009
Food & Fitness Advisor, July 2009
Examples of overutilize in a Sentence
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Jordan Michael Smith, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2021
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Verb
The urge to intervene in places of peripheral concern to U.S. interests, to overreact to threats, to overutilize military force in dealing with terrorists and others—these outlasted Obama.
—Jordan Michael Smith, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Overutilize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overutilize. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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