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
The club is also high on Bird, who made a poor first impression and was demoted to Triple-A after being acquired from and overworked by the Rockies last summer.
—
Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026
Keep demanding full funding and real protections for our stressed and overworked school system.
—Randy Linville, Baltimore Sun, 9 Feb. 2026
Because of the rush of federal inmates, Banks said corrections officers are overworked and overtime costs are way up in order to provide adequate security for inmates.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2026
Dirty filters cost more to use and overwork the equipment.
—Cheyenne Derksen, Oklahoman, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for overwork
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Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026
Keep demanding full funding and real protections for our stressed and overworked school system.
—Randy Linville, Baltimore Sun, 9 Feb. 2026
Because of the rush of federal inmates, Banks said corrections officers are overworked and overtime costs are way up in order to provide adequate security for inmates.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2026
Dirty filters cost more to use and overwork the equipment.
—Cheyenne Derksen, Oklahoman, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for overwork
Cite this Entry
“Overwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overwork. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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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