overwork

verb

over·work | \ ˌō-vər-ˈwərk

overworked; overworking; overworks

Definition of overwork

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

: 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.

Recent Examples on the Web

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. 2018 Be careful not to overwork the mixture at this point. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "The Hot and Hearty Pie Recipes to Kick Off Autumn in Your Kitchen," 21 Sep. 2018 As much as your back may be challenged at the moment, remember that your muscles are simply overworking, doing a temporary job of trying to support your spine. — Holly Lebowitz Rossi, Good Housekeeping, "What to Do Right After You Throw Out Your Back," 26 July 2018 As much as your back may be challenged at the moment, remember that your muscles are simply overworking, doing a temporary job of trying to support your spine. — Holly Lebowitz Rossi, Good Housekeeping, "What to Do Right After You Throw Out Your Back," 26 July 2018 Whisk wet ingredients together until well combined. Fold wet into dry being careful not to overwork the batter. — The Editors, Marie Claire, "How to Hack Your Holiday Party Menu," 19 Dec. 2017 Some were skeptical of those words, especially considering the public accusations that Rockstar employees were routinely overworked during the development of the first Red Dead Redemption. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Rockstar developers speak out about “100-hour weeks” comment," 18 Oct. 2018

These 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.