[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/overuse.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / overuse

[← O](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/O/)

# overuse

«overuse» in Mova's school dictionary: **To use something too much or too often** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (overuse, overuses, overused, overusing); noun (overuse — uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (verb) To use something too much or too often. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/#m1)

2) (noun) Using something too much, so that it is wasted, worn out, harmful or boring. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In English lessons teachers warn about overusing words like "nice", "said" or "then": it makes writing dull. In science and health it comes up as overuse of water, antibiotics or screens, and overuse injuries in sport. Overused phrases are called clichés. Phrases: overuse of, overused word, overuse injury.

### examples

- Try not to overuse the word "nice" in your story. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/#x1)
- Overuse of antibiotics can make germs stronger. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/#x2)
- My knee hurts from overuse after the football tournament. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/#x3)
- "Awesome" is a bit overused, isn't it? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/#x4)
- Overusing water in a drought is a bad idea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/#x5)
- The teacher circled every overused "then" in my writing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/#x6)

### note

Verb stress: o-ver-USE (z sound); noun stress: O-ver-use (s sound). Past: overused. The noun is uncountable: "the overuse of…". Do not confuse with "misuse" (using wrongly) or "abuse" (using badly or cruelly).

### In the corpora

- [Playing too long without breaks can cause overuse injuries, and pushing through pain can make them worse.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/3-practising-when-you-would-rather-not/17/)
- [Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics if the medicines are overused, which is why doctors do not give them for colds.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/257-the-microscopic-world-bacteria-good-and-bad/7/)
- [About a third of the world's soils are degraded by erosion, salt, pollution or overuse.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/geography/56-soil/16/)
- [Muscles grow stronger while resting after work; far too much of the same exercise every day leads to overuse pain.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/38-muscles-getting-stronger-and-getting-fitter/9/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «overuse» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.