overwork
gb/ˈoʊvɚwˌɚk/ us/ˈoʊvɚwˌɚk/
B2
English
Senses
0 senses
Verb
B2
action
1
work too much; tire yourself
to do too much work and get very tired
Usage pattern:
overwork; overwork [yourself]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse overwork (verb) with overtime (extra hours) or overworked (adjective).
Synonyms
work too hard (Direct, common synonym.)
|
overdo it (More informal and broader than work (can be any activity).)
|
overexert yourself (Often emphasizes physical strain.)
Antonyms
rest (Stop working to recover.)
|
pace yourself (Work at a sustainable speed.)
Collocations
overwork yourself
|tend to overwork
|overwork regularly
|overwork during busy periods
|overwork and burn out
|overwork to meet a deadline
|overwork at the office
|overwork for weeks
|chronically overwork
|overwork instead of resting
Themes
work
|health
|daily_life
Examples
- If you keep overworking, you’re going to get sick.
- I overworked for months and started having trouble sleeping.
- Try not to overwork this week—your body needs a break.
Learner examples
- Don’t overwork.
- I overworked and felt very tired.
Verb
B2
action
2
make someone work too much
to give someone too much work
Usage pattern:
overwork [someone]/[staff]/[employees]
Common mistake:
Don’t use overwork to mean simply “hire for extra hours”; it implies too much or harmful workload.
Synonyms
overburden (Emphasizes giving too many responsibilities or tasks.)
|
work someone too hard (More conversational; same idea.)
Antonyms
support (Provide help so the workload is manageable.)
|
ease up on (Reduce demands on someone.)
Collocations
overwork employees
|overwork staff
|overwork your team
|overwork interns
|overwork people
|overwork workers
|overwork nurses
|overwork teachers
|overwork someone badly
|overwork someone into burnout
Themes
work
|business
|health
Examples
- The company was accused of overworking its warehouse staff.
- Managers shouldn’t overwork people just to hit short-term targets.
- We can’t keep overworking the same two engineers.
Learner examples
- My boss overworks us.
- They overworked the team before the launch.
Noun
B2
quantity
3
too much work; excessive workload
too much work
Usage pattern:
overwork; from/through/due to overwork
Common mistake:
As a noun, overwork is usually uncountable (not “an overwork”).
Synonyms
overload (Often used for heavy demands; can be mental or technical too.)
|
excessive workload (More formal and explicit.)
Antonyms
downtime (Time away from work to rest.)
|
manageable workload (Work amount that can be handled comfortably.)
Collocations
suffer from overwork
|collapse from overwork
|stress and overwork
|due to overwork
|a result of overwork
|complaints of overwork
|signs of overwork
|recover from overwork
|overwork and fatigue
|overwork and anxiety
Themes
work
|health
|emotions
Examples
- She took a month off to recover from overwork.
- Overwork is a common cause of burnout.
- He blamed his headaches on stress and overwork.
Learner examples
- Overwork can make you sick.
- I had overwork last month.
Grammar
Dictionary form
overwork
IPA
GB/ˈoʊvɚwˌɚk/
US/ˈoʊvɚwˌɚk/
Syllables & stress
over - work (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (over)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: overwork
- Plural: overwork
Verb
- Base: overwork
- 3rd Person Singular: overworks
- Present Participle: overworking
- Past: overworked
Word family
Forms
overworks
verb
overworking
verb
overworked
verb
Related words
Negative and opposite forms
unworkable
adjective
Expressions
be overworked
1/bˈi ˌoʊvɚwˈɚkt/
fixed phrase
have too much work
to have too much work
Examples
- I’ve been overworked for months and I’m exhausted.
- Many junior doctors feel overworked and under-supported.
- If you’re overworked, talk to your manager about priorities.
overwork the system
1/ˌoʊvɚwˈɚk ðə sˈɪstəm/
fixed phrase
push a system beyond capacity
to use a system too much so it cannot cope
Examples
- Too many simultaneous requests can overwork the system and slow everything down.
- They overworked the booking system by releasing all the tickets at once.
- If we keep adding features, we’ll overwork the process and miss deadlines.
overwork yourself
1/ˌoʊvɚwˈɚk jʊɹsˈɛlf/
fixed phrase
do too much work yourself
to work too much and get very tired
Examples
- Don’t overwork yourself trying to impress your new boss.
- She overworked herself and ended up with pneumonia.
- I used to overwork myself, but now I stop at a reasonable hour.