as in to lick
to strike repeatedly
the mob boss's thugs really worked him over
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of work over
The players say little in games, letting Bibby work over referees when warranted.
—
Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 30 Jan. 2026
The sign, which depicts laundress hard at work over a washtub, was built for the Econo-Wash/Maytag Laundry circa 1959, according to Richard Jarvis, senior historic preservation planner.
—Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 29 Jan. 2026
Raw came back from break with all three teams taking turns working over Akira Tozawa.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
All three were created by the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit legal organization founded in 1989 that has expanded into narrative and public-history work over the past decade and a half under the leadership of its founder and executive director, Bryan Stevenson.
—Clint Smith, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for work over
Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 30 Jan. 2026
The sign, which depicts laundress hard at work over a washtub, was built for the Econo-Wash/Maytag Laundry circa 1959, according to Richard Jarvis, senior historic preservation planner.
—Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 29 Jan. 2026
Raw came back from break with all three teams taking turns working over Akira Tozawa.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
All three were created by the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit legal organization founded in 1989 that has expanded into narrative and public-history work over the past decade and a half under the leadership of its founder and executive director, Bryan Stevenson.
—Clint Smith, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for work over
Recent Examples of Synonyms for work over
Verb
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Mitch West, meanwhile, was licking his wounds on Monday night, when snow still hadn’t touched down in his region of South Carolina.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
28 Jan. 2026
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England’s Test team are still licking their wounds after their humbling Down Under.—
Sam Dalling,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That’s why scrolling by date and scrubbing through videos still works — search hides uncertainty, scrolling shows everything.—
Ken Colburn,
AZCentral.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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Days after federal agents arrested the Ecuadorian mother hiding under a trailer on a snowy Minneapolis street, White House border czar Tom Homan said 700 federal law enforcement personnel will be withdrawn from the state.—
Ray Sanchez,
CNN Money,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Getting ahead and staying ahead The key, for all of the Rockies pitchers, said, is to pound the zone, get ahead in the count and finish the job.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
6 Feb. 2026
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Court documents say when the officers tried to leave, Catlett pounded on the hood and kicked the side door of their car.—
Ashley Grams,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The president has lashed out at current Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the Fed's slow-and-steady approach to interest rate cuts over the last year.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
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Tony Khan’s History Of Online Controversies On New Year’s Eve in 2021, Tony Khan lashed out on Twitter at former AEW star Big Swole for her complaints about AEW’s lack of diversity.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The southern Portuguese city of Alcacer do Sal, about 60 miles from Lisbon, was battling rising waters from the river Sado, with downtown areas flooded and water levels measuring roughly 7 feet high in some places.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Feb. 2026
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For people that are not tracking what that actually means, that means that ICE can do almost no arrests in the entire country … If a court rules that there’s a final order of removal, they’re removed actually by an administrative warrant, not a judicial warrant.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On Thursday afternoon, the elderly driver first hit a bicyclist, then continued for about a block before crashing her 2023 Mercedes Benz C class into the bakery section of the grocery store, trapping multiple people beneath her car, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
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Nvidia now expects its total sales to hit new records in 2026, projecting around $500 billion in revenue.—
Rosa de Acosta,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The horn section sounds deep and crisp, punching out riffs on Kupka’s brawny bari foundation.—
Andrew Gilbert,
Mercury News,
21 Jan. 2026
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But two plays later, Drake Maye was lunging forward on a run and had the ball punched out.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Jets fans pictured Darnold wearing the green and white, beating the Patriots on his way to the Super Bowl.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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After going nearly two months without consecutive victories, the Capitals beat the Islanders, 4-1, for their third straight win.—
Bailey Johnson,
Washington Post,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Work over.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/work%20over. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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