overwork
verb
over·work
ˌō-vər-ˈwərk 
overworked; overworking; overworks
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
: 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
Parents are overworked, overwhelmed, and constantly concerned about the well-being of their children, so much so that their own well-being tanks.
—
Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 24 Oct. 2024
Advertisement Concern: Bottom of the rotation (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
To make sure the bullpen isn’t overworked, the Dodgers will need Walker Buehler and Landon Knack to rise to the occasion.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024
Played by David Thewlis, Hades is tired and overworked, even falling asleep during a conversation with Zeus.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 5 Sep. 2024
Monitor work hours to ensure employees aren’t chronically overworking
Effective workload management is essential to protecting employee mental health.
—Caroline Castrillon, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for overwork 
Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 24 Oct. 2024
Advertisement Concern: Bottom of the rotation (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
To make sure the bullpen isn’t overworked, the Dodgers will need Walker Buehler and Landon Knack to rise to the occasion.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024
Played by David Thewlis, Hades is tired and overworked, even falling asleep during a conversation with Zeus.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 5 Sep. 2024
Monitor work hours to ensure employees aren’t chronically overworking
Effective workload management is essential to protecting employee mental health.
—Caroline Castrillon, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for overwork
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overwork.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near overwork
Cite this Entry
“Overwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overwork. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
: to work too much or too long
overwork
noun
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