Overuse

//ˌoʊvɚˈjuːz// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    excessive use uncountable

    "There’s an occasional schmaltziness, aggravated by the overuse of a twangy score, but more than enough moments of genuine heartbreak, joy and suspense to make up for it."

  2. 2
    exploitation to the point of diminishing returns wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To use too much of (something); to use (it) too often. transitive

    "Another group argues that the diagnosis is being overused and that many of the diagnosed cases are iatrogenic, or unintentionally shaped or caused by the practitioner"

  2. 2
    make use of too often or too extensively wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
exaggerateexhaustgo overboardgo to extremesgo too farknow no bounds

Example

More examples

"With groundwater levels dropping due to overuse, drought and climate change, the challenge to get enough water daily was becoming harder."

Etymology

From over- + use.

More for "overuse"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.