overuse

[ verb oh-ver-yooz; noun oh-ver-yoos ]
See synonyms for overuse on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),o·ver·used, o·ver·us·ing.
  1. to use too much or too often: to overuse an expression.

noun
  1. excessive use: to strain one's voice through overuse.

Origin of overuse

1
First recorded in 1670–80; over- + use

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use overuse in a sentence

  • But I never used “awesome,” which has been ruined by over-use, to the point where it now means nothing more than OK.

    Richard Dawkins: How I Write | Noah Charney | November 27, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Thus it is that over-use, in sports and games, of the muscles of shoulder and chest, occasions atrophy of mammary glands.

    Feminism and Sex-Extinction | Arabella Kenealy
  • Developing creatures should never be allowed to over-use function or faculty.

    Feminism and Sex-Extinction | Arabella Kenealy
  • It is liable to traumatic affections from a fall on the shoulder, pressure, or over-use of the limb.

    Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
  • Some people suggest by the over-use of head tones that they depend altogether on what they know to achieve success.

    Certain Success | Norval A. Hawkins
  • The unskillful over-use of head tones may ruin a salesman's best opportunity to gain a coveted object.

    Certain Success | Norval A. Hawkins

British Dictionary definitions for over-use

over-use

verb(ˌəʊvəˈjuːz) (tr)
  1. to use excessively

noun(ˌəʊvəˈjuːs)
  1. excessive use

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012