overwork
/ˌəʊvəˈwɜːk/US/ˌoʊvɚˈwɝk/
overwork verb: to make (someone or something) work too hard.
Verb
overwork (third-person singular simple present overworks, present participle overworking, simple past and past participle overworked or (archaic) overwrought)
- To make (someone or something) work too hard.
- to overwork a horse
- For some years locomotives and coaches have been overworked and undermaintained to a degree without precedent in British railway history, and the leeway in maintenance now to be made up is very great.1945 November snd December, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 329
- To work too hard.
- To fill too full of work; to crowd with labour.
- My days with toil are overwrought.1874, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Aigalades
- To decorate all over.
Noun
UK/ˈəʊvəˌwɜːk/US/ˈoʊvɚˌwɝk/
overwork (uncountable)
- A superstructure.
- Excessive work.
- Various disordered conditions consequent upon overwork, which are characteristic of modern civilisation.1878, Phosphorus in functional disorders of the nervous system, induced by overwork and other influences incidental to modern life
- He says that more men are killed by overwork than the importance of this world justifies. He maintains that overwork slew Pansay who died under his hands about three years ago.1888, Rudyard Kipling, “The Phantom Rickshaw”, in The Phantom 'Rickshaw and Other Tales, Allahabad: A.H. Wheeler and Co., page 8
overwork meaning in Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada
overwork in Tamil
- சக்கையாய்ப்பிழி
overwork in Bengali
- অতিরিক্ত পরিশ্রম করা, করানো
overwork in Malayalam
- work too hard, work oneself into the ground, run oneself into the ground
- കഠിനാദ്ധ്വാനം ചെയ്യുക, അതിപ്രയത്നം ചെയ്യുക, കഠിനമായി ജോലി ചെയ്യുക, അധികവേല ചെയ്ക, അമിതാദ്ധ്വാനം ചെയ്ക, എല്ലു വെള്ളമാക്കുക
- exploit, drive (too hard), drive into the ground
- ക്രമാതീതമായി ജോലിചെയ്യിക്കുക, കഠിനാദ്ധ്വാനം ചെയ്യിക്കുക, നിർബന്ധം ചെലുത്തുക, ചൂഷണം ചെയ്യുക, ചുമത്തുക, അദ്ധ്വാനം ചെയ്യിക്കുക
overwork in Kannada
- ಅತಿದುಡಿಮೆ, ಅತಿಶ್ರಮ, ಮಿತಿಮೀರಿದ ಕೆಲಸ, ಮಿತಿಮೀರಿ ಕೆಲಸಮಾಡು, ಅತಿಯಾಗಿ ಶ್ರಮಿಸು, ಅತಿಯಾಗಿ ದುಡಿಸು
More languagesFewer languages
- overwork in Nepali
- घोट्नु ghoṭnu
Examples of overwork in a sentence
- It turns out that overworking your brain with either physical or mental exercise may lower your ability to delay self-gratification.2019 September 26, Sandee LaMotte, “Too much exercise could lead to bad decisions on what you eat and buy”, in CNN, archived from the...
- One of China’s most prominent e-commerce companies is facing intense public backlash over allegations that it overworks its employees.2021 January 13, Laura He and Nectar Gan, “Pinduoduo under fire as China turns on its tech titans”, in CNN Business, archived from the...
- […] it had obtained from its constituents rather antiquated and inefficient equipment, which scarcely stood up to overwork; […].1946 July and August, K. Westcott Jones, “Isle of Wight Central Railway—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 244:
- When it comes to overwork, denial looms large.1996, Wilkie Au, Urgings of the Heart: A Spirituality of Integration:
Forms of overwork
| third-person singular present | overworks |
|---|---|
| present participle | overworking |
| past participle | overworked |
| past | overworked |
| past participle (archaic) | overwrought |
| past (archaic) | overwrought |
Origin of overwork
From Middle English overwerken, possibly from Old English oferwyrċan (“to overwork, overlay”), equivalent to over- + work. Cognate with Dutch overwerken (“to overwork”).
From Middle English overwerc, from Old English oferweorc, oferġeweorc (“an overwork, superstructure, tomb”), equivalent to over- + work.
Words that rhyme with overwork
Questions about overwork
- What does overwork mean?
- Overwork means to make (someone or something) work too hard.
- What is overwork in Tamil?
- Overwork in Tamil is சக்கையாய்ப்பிழி. See Overwork meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use overwork in a sentence?
- It turns out that overworking your brain with either physical or mental exercise may lower your ability to delay self-gratification.
- What part of speech is overwork?
- Overwork can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce overwork?
- Overwork is pronounced /ˌəʊvəˈwɜːk/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of overwork?
- The past tense of overwork is overworked.
Words near overwork in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: overwork (page history and authors); overwork (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Overwork (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); overwork (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); overwork (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); घोट्नु (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-overwork (verb).wav.
Cite this entry: “overwork.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/overwork. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.