overworked
adjective, verb
overworked is spelled O-V-E-R-W-O-R-K-E-D: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, overworked means “Subjected to too much work” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overworked?
| Letters | 10: O-V-E-R-W-O-R-K-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is overworked?
Overworked appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce overworked?
Overworked has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-overworked.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of overworked
- more overworked comparative
- most overworked superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overworked mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Subjected to too much work.
Overworked and underpaid? Then quit your job and become a pro darts player.
- 2
Having been overused such that it has lost its meaning; trite; banal.
overworked, unaffecting cliches
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of overwork
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overworked in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense subjected to too much work:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | débordé, surmené |
| German | überarbeitet |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does overworked come from?
From over- + worked.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).