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⚠️ To push too far 🤕 To strain
to overstretch

to overstretch

1 5.6
To pull a muscle too far and hurt it
  • verb
  • /ˌoʊvərˈstrɛtʃ/
translation icon : sobrecargar
  • Every muscle became rigid and taut until it seemed that the flesh would tear apart the overstretched skin.

Bits like just to stretch out, I think are overstretched and my left leg is agony.

Examples

  • Half last month, and I keep re-pulling it by overstretching at ballet.

    Blog text (9)

  • Bits like just to stretch out, I think are overstretched and my left leg is agony.

    Jamie Genevieve

  • This type of stretching is no longer recommended for the general population due to a high risk of overstretching and injuring the muscles.

    Blog text (30)

  • These toys were so popular and were played with so much that most of them eventually tore, got overstretched, and were discarded, a cleverly planned obsolescence on the part of the toy manufacturer.

    Blog text (13)

  • To avoid injury, make sure not to overstretch your muscles during warm-up exercises.

  • If you overstretch without proper technique, you might damage your tendons.

  • She felt a sharp pain after she accidentally overstretched her hamstring while running.

Synonyms

to pull
vsto overstretch
668 3.4

To injure a muscle by stretching it too much

emphasizes reaching or passing normal extension limits rather than sudden force
to overextend
vsto overstretch
19 6.3

To try to do more than you can handle and cause strain

refers to physically extending a part past safe limits rather than overcommitment
to pull a muscle
vsto overstretch
8 2.9

Hurt a muscle by stretching or straining it too much

is about stretching a body part beyond its normal limit causing harm
to hyperextend
vsto overstretch
  • Specialized
1 8.4

To push a joint like an elbow or knee beyond its normal straight position causing injury

is broader, applying to any body part stretched past its safe limit
to overstress
vsto overstretch
1 4.4

To put too much strain on the body or mind

is limited to physical extension of body parts beyond normal limits
to overstrain
vsto overstretch
6.5

To push yourself or something too hard so it breaks and you become very tired

focuses specifically on forcing a body part past its normal limit

How Severe

to rupture
95 6.8
tear
207 1.0
to overstretch
1 5.6
to stretch
185 1.5

Surface Forms

overstretch infinitive
overstretched past
overstretched past participle
overstretching present participle
overstretches third person singular

Morphology

overstretch = stretch (transparent) = over + stretch

Clear combination of the productive prefix 'over-' meaning 'excessively/beyond' and the verb 'stretch' denoting physical extension, so the physical sense is directly derivable.

Etymology

The word overstretch comes from over 'too much' and stretch 'to pull or make long', like pulling a rubber band beyond its limit so it hurts or breaks. So, to overstretch a muscle is to pull it too far and cause injury.