WordGarden.ioovertire
Pronunciation
UK
US
Meanings
Verb
to make too tired through too much activity or strain
Beyond the definition
Imagine a loyal workhorse pulling a heavy load all day. By nightfall, that horse is not just tired but worn out from being pushed too hard. To overtire means to make someone or something too tired by giving them more effort, stress, or activity than they can handle well. You might do this to yourself by working for hours without a break, or a runner might do it to their body during hard training. It is stronger than simply feeling tired. It suggests that the limit has been pushed too far and that rest is now badly needed.
To overtire someone or something means to make them excessively tired by pushing them beyond a healthy or reasonable limit. It is not just ordinary tiredness. The word suggests that too much effort, work, stress, or activity has led to a stronger kind of exhaustion. This can be physical, mental, or emotional.
You might say a parent overtires themselves by trying to manage work, childcare, and too little sleep all at once. A coach might worry about overtiring an athlete before a competition. People also use the related adjective overtired, especially for children who become so tired that they grow upset, restless, or hard to settle. Historically, the verb was often used for horses and other working animals that were driven too hard for too long.
The word usually carries a warning. If someone or something is overtired, performance may drop, mistakes may happen, and recovery may take longer than usual. It is not only about needing rest. It is about having gone past the point where rest should have come earlier.
So, if someone is simply tired, a short rest may help. If they are overtired, the problem is deeper: they have been pushed too hard, and they may need real recovery and a change in routine. The word points to excess, strain, and a limit that has already been crossed.
Examples
- 1
Bedtime
Try not to overtire the baby before bedtime.
- 2
Exercise
It is easy to overtire yourself when you start exercising again.
- 3
Hospital visit
The long hospital visit overtired my father, so we took him home early.
See also
Forms and spellings
1 form open this card.
Main spelling
- overtireverb