Overdo

Overdo

Verb · /ˌəʊ.vəˈduː/

Definition

To do something to excess; to carry something too far; to cook food for too long; to exhaust oneself through excessive effort; to exaggerate.

Origin

From over- (in excess, beyond the appropriate degree) + do (from Old English dōn, to do, to act). Overdo appearing in English from the fourteenth century with the sense of doing beyond the right or fitting degree — the same over- that appears in overwork, overplay, overstay, and overact. The phrase don't overdo it being one of the most frequent pieces of advice given to people recovering from illness or injury — implying that enthusiasm for return to normal activity needs to be moderated. The theatrical sense — to overdo a performance, to overact — being a specific application of the excess sense.