Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🔁 To use too much 🔁 Too much use
to overuse

to overuse

20 3.7
To use something too often so it becomes harmful or less effective
  • verb
  • /ˌoʊvərˈjuːs/
translation icon : usar en exceso
  • "Family values" is a phrase so overused and abused that it has become almost meaningless.
  • overused word
  • overused term
  • overuse the resource

But are we in danger of overusing this word?

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Antibiotics are very commonly overused and used in situations where they're not going to help at all.

    KenDBerryMD

  • The adage "practice makes perfect" may be one of the most overused sayings in the field of music teaching.

    Academic text (1998)

  • So when you overuse the tools, you see the damage the tools cause.

  • It's like so many words that we overuse, and they lose their meaning.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Love is the most overused word in the English language.

    God's Not Dead (2014)

  • But are we in danger of overusing this word?

    DoctorRamani

  • Many have perhaps already been so overused as to have lost effectiveness.

    Academic text (1993)

  • If you overuse those gardening tools, they may break and no longer work properly.

  • Many people tend to overuse antibiotics, leading to resistance and making them less effective.

  • It's important not to overuse certain phrases in your writing, as they can lose their impact.

Synonyms

to overload
vsto overuse
93 3.7

To put too much into something so it cannot work properly

is about repeated use causing harm rather than a single excessive load
to overdo
vsto overuse
58 3.6

Do something too much, more than needed

applies specifically to using things too often causing harm
to wear out
vsto overuse
19 2.7

To make a person very tired or a thing stop working by using it too much

focuses on the act of excessive use rather than the worn result
to overwork
vsto overuse
2 4.4

To use something too much so it loses its quality or value

focuses on frequency or amount causing harm rather than duration
to overdrive
vsto overuse
1 6.3

To make someone work too hard until they are tired

describes repeated or frequent use that reduces effectiveness rather than force
to overconsume
vsto overuse
1 6.0

To eat, drink, or use more than you need in an unhealthy way

is broader, covering any excessive use causing harm beyond consumption
to overexploit
vsto overuse
1 7.4

Use things from nature like fish or trees so much that they disappear

covers general excessive use causing harm, not only resource exploitation

Antonyms

to underuse
1 3.6

To use something less than you should

How Often

to overuse
20 3.7
to abuse
183 4.3
to use
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

overuse infinitive
overused past
overused past participle
overusing present participle
overuses third person singular

Morphology

overuse = use (transparent) = over + use

The meaning is directly derived from the prefix 'over' indicating excess and the verb 'use'.

Etymology

Overuse is made of over- ('too much') and use ('to use something'). So, to overuse is to use something too often or too much, which can make it less effective or cause harm.