work over

verb

worked over; working over; works over

Synonyms of work over next

transitive verb

: to subject to thorough examination, study, or treatment

shelf stock worked over by shoppers

: to do over : rework

saved the play by working the first act over

: to beat up or manhandle with thoroughness

My boxing opponent worked me over in the ring.

Examples of work over in a Sentence

the mob boss's thugs really worked him over

Recent Examples on the Web In the library, the musical’s makers worked over their ideas. —

Melena Ryzik Adali Schell, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2024 For Garoppolo, Samuel was his first, his last, his everything, because the bumper-car receiver does his work over the middle of the field and close to the line of scrimmage. —

Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 The Kinsey Institute has long been a target of criticism, particularly from conservatives who’ve objected to several aspects of its work over the years, including its views about the prevalence of homosexuality. —

Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 The Titans are counting on Callahan to develop Will Levis, the 33rd overall pick in 2023, based on his work over his 14 NFL seasons with quarterbacks ranging from Joe Burrow, Derek Carr and Matthew Stafford to Peyton Manning. —

Teresa M. Walker, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024 Production is still not back to full strength, and many below-the-line crew members have struggled to find work over the last year. —

Katcy Stephan, Variety, 3 Mar. 2024 Yet as many of these organizations have adapted to hybrid and fully remote work over the last few years, coaches are having to refine their approaches. —

Adrian Gostick, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 Research and popular media on remote work over the past three years have identified obvious benefits (ditching the commute) and shortcomings (loss of mentoring or innovation) of working from home. —

Amy Edmondson, WIRED, 8 Jan. 2024 Research suggests that there’s no true benefit to choosing to work over choosing to get the appropriate amount of sleep. —

Andrew Deutscher, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'work over.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.