work overtime

idiom

: to spend time working at one's job in addition to one's normal working hours

—often used figuratively

Her imagination was working overtime.

He's been working overtime around the house to please his wife.

Examples of work overtime in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Canary Islands While part of the show literally takes place in Spain, the Canary Islands work overtime as a dupe for South America and the Middle East. —Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Jan. 2026

Fortunately, the charisma of the show's stars – such as Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, and Dominic Purcell – work overtime to compensate for the noticeable shortcomings, keeping the viewers invested in what's on screen even as the series stumbles through an initial and very public identity crisis. —Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 21 Jan. 2026

Her adrenal gland would begin to work overtime and she’d be lifted up, energized, hunted, and desperate to outwit her attacker and survive. —Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026

Change filters regularly to keep the air clean and to prevent the HVAC system from having to work overtime to force air through a clogged filter. —Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 12 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for work overtime

• aforetime
• allozyme
• anytime
• christmastime
• cybercrime
• dinnertime
• guggenheim
• isozyme
• lysozyme
• maritime
• mesenchyme
• pantomime