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# overuse

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

«overuse» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (verb) To use something too much or too often. [tree →](https://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://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/#m2)

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

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «overuse» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/overuse/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«overuse» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/overuse.html) on Mova free.