overdo
Americanverb (used with object)
-
overdoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overdid,
past
-
overdone,
past participle
-
overdoing
present participle
-
to do to excess; overindulge in.
to overdo dieting.
-
to carry to excess or beyond the proper limit.
He puts on so much charm that he overdoes it.
-
to overact (a part); exaggerate.
-
to overtax the strength of; fatigue; exhaust.
-
to cook too much or too long; overcook.
Don't overdo the hamburgers.
verb (used without object)
-
overdoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overdid,
past
-
overdone,
past participle
-
overdoing
present participle
verb
-
to take or carry too far; do to excess
-
to exaggerate, overelaborate, or overplay
-
to cook or bake too long
-
to overtax one's strength, capacity, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overdosimple
-
overdoessimple
-
have overdoneperfect
-
has overdoneperfect
-
am overdoingprogressive
-
are overdoingprogressive
-
is overdoingprogressive
-
have been overdoingperfect progressive
-
has been overdoingperfect progressive
Past
-
overdidsimple
-
had overdoneperfect
-
was overdoingprogressive
-
were overdoingprogressive
-
had been overdoingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overdo
before 1000; Middle English overdon, Old English oferdōn. See over-, do 1
Vocabulary lists containing overdo
Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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Commonly Confused Words, List 8
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
They weren’t to overdo it at their holiday dinner table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
But, Dr Munro cautions that you shouldn't overdo it.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2025
“One of the best things about music’s potential to decrease dementia risk is that it is fun, can be interactive and you can’t overdo it,” Jaffa said.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2025
Either way, avoid going full-liquid; squash carries a lot of water and it’s easy to overdo it.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2025
Then I stuff down every mouthful I can hold, which is a substantial amount, being careful to not overdo it on the richest stuff.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
The performances are engaging, though Bates overdoes the overbearing nature of her voluble character: opinionated, judgmental and not hesitant to deliver dig after dig at Chrissie.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 13, 2023
No one overdoes it, even when the action gets baroque, and their restraint is matched by Haigh’s.
From New York Times ● Jul. 14, 2021
He beats Shubman’s outside edge with his first offering, but overdoes his second and gets driven down the ground for four.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2021
“What we’re doing here is trying to take mechanisms that fight where your body overdoes it.”
From Washington Times ● Mar. 6, 2021
They are liable to overdo everything, and even the stomach overdoes its acid forming function.
From Psychotherapy by James J. (James Joseph) Walsh
The British number one sustained a rib injury in the build-up to Roland Garros after he "overdid it with the preparation".
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
“We underdid it in the great financial crisis, so we overdid it here,” said Patrick Harker, who was president of the Philadelphia Fed for a decade before stepping down last June.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Here’s what to do if you overdid it.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 12, 2026
“Just overdid it a little bit today,” he said in a television interview April 10.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2022
If anything, I generally overdid things, especially when it came to preparing for a big moment or test, but this one I’d let slip by.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Even the serious moments had hints of comedy, yet the bits were never overdone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
It followed a busy festive period with her husband Ross and four-year-old twins Max and Freddie, and when she developed a headache she initially thought she had just "overdone it".
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
But if the glamour of Ernst’s life is overdone, the novel is so action-packed that you hardly have time to roll your eyes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Some argue this latest rally might be overdone.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
She let out an overdone sigh and reached into a drawer.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
Some also say Americans — as in the case of previous health fads — run the risk of overdoing it.
From MarketWatch ● May 10, 2026
True believers have a way of rhetorically overdoing it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025
"It was clear he was overdoing it," our eyewitness said.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
On the other hand, I am not sure if Parker Posey is trying to sound crazy on purpose because her character is heavily medicated, or if she’s just really overdoing that drawl.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2025
It’s almost another hour of adjustments and testing and warnings about not overdoing it, watching for hot spots, and avoiding stump blisters at all cost before I walk out of there.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
