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overuse

[ verb oh-ver-yooz; noun oh-ver-yoos ]

/ verb ˌoʊ vərˈyuz; noun ˈoʊ vərˈyus /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR overuse ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), o·ver·used, o·ver·us·ing.

to use too much or too often: to overuse an expression.

noun

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

Origin of overuse

First recorded in 1670–80; over- + use

Words nearby overuse

overtrade, overtrick, overtrump, overture, overturn, overuse, overvalue, overview, overvoltage, overwatch, overwear

Example sentences from the Web for overused

While there are a couple of antibiotics that usually work, if they are overused they, too, may cease to be effective.

Without Education, Antibiotic Resistance Will Be Our Greatest Health Crisis |Russell Saunders |December 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
And while Mandela was richly deserving of his Nobel Prize and earned the overused appellation "great man," he wasn't a saint.

Nelson Mandela Was Undeniably Great But He Doesn’t Need a Halo |Michael Moynihan |December 6, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
I “embrace” my “otherness,” to spew that overused phrase of early '90s identity reclamation.

Norway’s New Cultural Anxiety |Keshni Kashyap |July 24, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
And the overused "editorial we" has now passed entirely from the news article.

News Writing |M. Lyle Spencer

The voice will keep, and it will be sweeter and fresher if it is not overused in childhood.

Great Singers on the Art of Singing |James Francis Cooke
His voice was sensitive to liquids, but he overused the word "glorious."

Main Street |Sinclair Lewis
Also, he comes to know the full meaning of that overused and abused word—service.

How To Write Special Feature Articles |Willard Grosvenor Bleyer