working over

verb

present participle of work over
as in licking
to strike repeatedly the mob boss's thugs really worked him over

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of working over Rybakina’s serve and forehand can take any match out of her opponent’s hands, especially on grass, but the latter shot has misfired of late, and McNally’s changes in rhythm will give the 27-year-old a serious working over. — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 1 July 2026 There should be no pain or skin reddening during a proper session, and therapists avoid working over active swelling, infection or skin that’s undergone cancer treatment. — Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026 However, Clayton-Thomas continued working over the decades, both solo and as a member of later incarnations of the band. — Jem Aswad, Variety, 25 June 2026 So college-bound or not, most teens would be better off working over the summer, gaining experience, skills, and perspective to see the big city beyond Santa Rosa. — Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026 Angie Moore, a bartender at The Do Drop Inn, a bar on Main Street, was working over the weekend and watched groups of kids running past the business several times, saw youths jumping on top of a car and spotted some who made it to the rooftop of a downtown building. — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 10 June 2026 On Wednesday, the judge said that Sidhu had been given speeding penalties before the crash and had been working over 26 hours, with 16 of them being behind the wheel, per CBC. — Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 15 May 2026 Using clean hands and working over a colander, wring out the extra water and tear the soaked bread into pieces. — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Oct. 2025 John Cooper described how much Redford enjoyed working over ideas with young filmmakers at the Sundance Institute each summer. — Scott Simon, NPR, 20 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for working over
  1. licking
  2. pounding
  3. hiding
  4. lashing
  5. punching out
  6. whipping
  7. doing
  8. beating
Verb
  • Dubiously sourced accounts followed of Australians who died after drinking toad tea and a man supposedly being imprisoned in South America on toad-licking charges.
    — Kimon de Greef, Longreads, 4 Aug. 2026
  • There’s truly nothing like licking that paper lid, then shoveling that tiny tongue depressor into a child-sized serving of vanilla or chocolate ice cream.
    — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of licking
Verb
  • Then, in the meditation hall, our cheery host suddenly turned serious and began pounding on a 350-year-old drum from a samurai castle used for marking the beginning of chores.
    — Pico Iyer, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Lala is no longer a hurricane, but the tropical storm is drenching Hawaii with sideways rain, hurricane-force gusts and pounding surf, flooding rivers and triggering mudslides.
    — Alexa St. John, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of pounding
Verb
  • Filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain crafts a taut supernatural drama that dissects the patriarchy hiding beneath the veneer of a fairytale wedding.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Then there are all the people hiding in the hills, and those who have taken refuge in the homes of Moroccan relatives in Ceuta.
    — Miguel Macias, NPR, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of hiding
Verb
  • Lala weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm Sunday after lashing the state without making landfall.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The eyewall was forecast to move over or near the island’s southern end by the evening, lashing its worst winds at volcanic slopes thousands of feet above sea level.
    — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of lashing
Verb
  • Danny Nelson starred again from the mound for Leominster in a 4-1 win over Shepherd Hill, allowing just three hits while punching out 10 in a complete game.
    — Kristina Banahan, Boston Herald, 20 May 2026
  • The third frame was his sharpest, with Snell pitching around a two-out error from Kim and punching out Jorge Mateo on a curveball to end his night.
    — Katie Woo, New York Times, 10 May 2026
Definition of punching out
Verb
  • Harrison Ford is whipping back into blockbuster shape, as the 84-year-old is set to return as iconic adventurer Indiana Jones in a new Disney project.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Aug. 2026
  • He’s spent the last week whipping senators to support it and even enlisted former Alabama football coach Nick Saban to dial up undecided lawmakers, according to people familiar with the matter.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • On the flip side, doing the wrong thing meant point deductions.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The Titans drove 95 yards on their opening possession with Ward completing two passes and Tennessee doing most of the work on the ground by controlling the line of scrimmage.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of doing
Verb
  • Earlier polling showed Donalds beating Jolly by 5 points, according to the RealClearPolitics average of two polls that surveyed voters on a hypothetical matchup between the two front-runners.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 19 Aug. 2026
  • At the 2025 French Open, Loïs Boisson rode her wild card all the way to the semifinals, beating two top-10 players along the way.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of beating

Browse Nearby Words

working out
working over
workings
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Cite this Entry

“Working over.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/working%20over. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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