overwork

verb

over·​work ˌō-vər-ˈwərk How to pronounce overwork (audio)
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 The audit follows a New York Times investigation that documented widespread breakdowns in the city’s mental health care system for homeless people, including some among treatment teams that are often overworked and underpaid. James Barron, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024 Villanueva has been particularly vocal about the vacancies, pointing to the alarming rash of suicides within the department as a sign that staffers are desperately overworked. Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2024 The station’s harried and overworked station master had to listen to myriad complaints about men who had taken over the women’s waiting room and refused to give up their seats. Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2024 This will make sure the ingredients have time to work through your hair follicles and won’t overwork, thus reducing the chances of your shampoo thinning for men to work. Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024 Election offices are traditionally understaffed and overworked, with many sharing IT staff with other departments or lacking them altogether, said Lawrence Norden, senior director at the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit policy institute. Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 9 Jan. 2024 Three Popeyes restaurants in California overworked 13-year-olds and other teen employees with shifts that lasted too long and went too late, federal officials said. Julia Marnin, Sacramento Bee, 8 Feb. 2024 But if some moments designed to illustrate the fineness of Ravel’s feeling — for Misia and for music — are overworked, there is compensation in an unusually convincing depiction of both the 99% perspiration and the 1% inspiration that are said to go into genius. Jessica Kiang, Variety, 4 Feb. 2024 Additionally, economic justice for hospitality workers, a group that studies have shown is overworked and underpaid, remains a hot topic. Scott Hocker, theweek, 25 Jan. 2024

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.

Word History

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of overwork was in 1530

Dictionary Entries Near overwork

Cite this Entry

“Overwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overwork. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

overwork

verb
over·​work -ˈwərk How to pronounce overwork (audio)
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 How to pronounce overwork (audio)
: to cause to work too hard, too long, or to exhaustion

intransitive verb

: to work too much or too long
overwork noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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