overwork

verb

over·​work ˌō-vər-ˈwərk 

overworked; overworking; overworks

transitive verb

1

: to cause to work too hard, too long, or to exhaustion

overworked the horses

2

a

: to work too much on

overwork bread dough

b

: to make excessive use of

overworked tunes

intransitive verb

: to work too much or too long : overdo

overwork noun

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Some of your muscles may be overworking to compensate for weakness or movement dysfunction in other areas of your body. —Dana Santas, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026

Weis explains that too many companies are seeing the productivity and efficiency gains AI can bring as a solution to employees being overworked and burned out. —Francesca Cassidy, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026

That person’s overworked and has so much stuff to do and has to work on the renders and the this and the that and is busy. —Brian Welk, IndieWire, 18 Mar. 2026

Young is adamant about clearing up accusations that her team mismanaged or overworked her. —Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for overwork

• bodywork
• handiwork
• ironwork
• latticework
• masterwork
• metalwork
• needlework
• openwork
• paperwork
• subnetwork
• artwork
• beadwork

Kids Definition

overwork

verb

over·​work -ˈwərk 

1

: to work or cause to work too hard or long

overworked the crew

2

: to use too much

overworked phrases

overwork noun

Medical Definition

overwork

transitive verb

over·​work ˌō-vər-ˈwərk 

: to cause to work too hard, too long, or to exhaustion

intransitive verb

: to work too much or too long

overwork noun