overtime

American  

[oh-ver-tahym, oh-ver-tahym] / ˈoʊ vərˌtaɪm, ˌoʊ vərˈtaɪm /

noun

1. working time before or after one's regularly scheduled working hours; extra working time.

2. pay for such time (distinguished from straight time).

3. time in excess of a prescribed period.

4. Sports. an additional period of play for deciding the winner of a game in which the contestants are tied at the end of the regular playing period.

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adverb

1. during overtime.

   to work overtime.

adjective

1. of or for overtime.

   overtime pay.

verb (used with object)

overtimed, overtiming

1. to give too much time to (a photographic exposure).

overtime British  

noun

1. 1. work at a regular job done in addition to regular working hours

   2. ( as modifier )

      overtime pay

2. the rate of pay established for such work

3. time in excess of a set period

4. sport extra time

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adverb

1. beyond the regular or stipulated time

verb

1. (tr) to exceed the required time for (a photographic exposure)

Etymology

Origin of overtime

First recorded in 1530–40; over- + time

Explanation

Overtime is the amount of time you work beyond your regular hours. If your boss asks you to work over 40 hours one week, that's overtime and you should demand extra pay. You can use this word as a noun or an adjective, as in overtime pay or overtime hours. At some workplaces, working overtime earns you more than the normal hourly salary. In other cases, full time employees are expected to work overtime without any extra pay. In sports, overtime is when play goes longer than the usual time — more than nine innings in a baseball game, or more than a twenty-minute half in basketball, for example.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

overtime overtimed

Goncalves was fined for his celebration during Indianapolis’s overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday night.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

The Kansas City Chiefs were back doing what they do best but the Baltimore Ravens were surprisingly beaten, while two games were settled in overtime and one decided with just nine seconds on the clock.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

The Green Bay Packers also triumphed in overtime by erasing a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the New York Jets to win 20-17 - and snap a six-game losing streak.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

Brentwood missed a chance to end it in the second overtime but had an extra point blocked.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

He assured us that the IT department was working overtime to try to identify the IP address of the computer used in the anonymous emails.

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

The action raced like an overtimed kinetoscopic film.

From A Man to His Mate by Stockton Mulford