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 extra hours helped dozens of patrol officers and sergeants take home more money than the police chief but left them feeling overworked, according to the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police and IMPD.
—
Michael McDaniel, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Sep. 2024
Warranty If taken care of properly and not overworked, stand mixers tend to last at least a decade without issue.
—Carrie Honaker, Southern Living, 17 June 2024
Doctors in India’s crowded and often squalid government hospitals have long complained of being overworked and underpaid, and say not enough is done to curb violence leveled at them by people angered over the medical care on offer.
—Reuters, NBC News, 15 Aug. 2024
Doctors also said her heart was overworked and overlarge.
—Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 1 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for overwork 
Michael McDaniel, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Sep. 2024
Warranty If taken care of properly and not overworked, stand mixers tend to last at least a decade without issue.
—Carrie Honaker, Southern Living, 17 June 2024
Doctors in India’s crowded and often squalid government hospitals have long complained of being overworked and underpaid, and say not enough is done to curb violence leveled at them by people angered over the medical care on offer.
—Reuters, NBC News, 15 Aug. 2024
Doctors also said her heart was overworked and overlarge.
—Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 1 Aug. 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 20 Sep. 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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