overtry

O1V4E1R1T1R1Y4

verb

To spend too much time or resources in trying (a legal case).

Scrabble 13
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Meanings

verbovertry (third-person singular simple present overtries, present participle overtrying, simple past and past participle overtried)

present singular third person overtries · participle present overtrying · participle past overtried · past overtried

  1. transitiveTo spend too much time or resources in trying (a legal case).

    “It would appear to me that the case is being overtried by the district attorney’s office,” said Benjamin Brafman, a criminal defense lawyer and former prosecutor.

    2009 August 18, A. G. Sulzberger, “Astor Trial Plods on, Trying the Patience of Many”, in New York Times

Origin

From over- + try.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

overtry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overtry

MLA

“overtry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overtry. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overtry,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overtry.

Source: overtry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.