overcommit
overcommit — verb
- overcommitpresent simple I / you / we / they
- overcommits3rd person singular
- overcommitting-ing form
- overcommittedpast simple
1. to agree to do more than you are really able to handle, so that you cannot do al
to agree to do more than you are really able to handle, so that you cannot do all of it properly.
Reema overcommitted at work and now has five reports due on the same Friday.
intransitive: overcommit in a context
Kian's coach warned him not to overcommit before the marathon, or his knees would give out.
advice register: 'don't overcommit'
The small charity overcommitted itself by promising help to three new towns at once.
Daichi overcommitted as club president and then let down the freshmen who counted on him.
- overextend
stresses stretching your limits, often of money or energy
- overpromise
focuses on the promise itself rather than the workload taken on
- underdeliver
promise normally but produce less than expected
文法句型
overcommit oneself
overcommit to + noun
用法筆記
Frequently reflexive (overcommit oneself) or with no object. The implied result is always failure to deliver, so it carries a mildly negative tone.
常見錯誤
2. to place someone, including yourself, under a duty that is larger than they can
to place someone, including yourself, under a duty that is larger than they can actually meet.
The contract overcommitted Andrés to deliver two hundred chairs he had no factory to build.
transitive: overcommit + someone + to-infinitive
By signing every petition, Tamar overcommitted herself to causes she could never properly support.
reflexive with to + noun
The village of Wren's Hollow was overcommitted to loan repayments long before the new mayor arrived.
The lender overcommitted young farmers to debts their small harvests could never repay.
- overburden
stresses the weight of the duty rather than the act of binding
- overextend
more about reaching past safe limits than formal obligation
文法句型
overcommit + someone + to
be overcommitted
用法筆記
Subject is usually a contract, agreement, or institution that binds a person; distinguish from sense 1, where the person freely takes on too much rather than being bound by an outside duty.
3. to promise or use up more of a supply, such as money, water, or staff, than can
to promise or use up more of a supply, such as money, water, or staff, than can be put back or refilled.
The factory overcommitted its water supply and the nearby river ran dry by August.
transitive: overcommit + a resource
Isabela warned that the city had overcommitted its budget across far too many road projects.
object is a finite resource (budget)
Darius found the office server so overcommitted that even a one-line email took thirty seconds to open.
The hospital overcommitted its nurses to three wards and patients waited hours for care.
- overallocate
neutral planning term, no built-in sense of harm
- overextend
can describe resources but also effort and reach
- underutilize
use less of a resource than is available
文法句型
overcommit + resource
be overcommitted
用法筆記
Object is a finite, replenishable resource (water, budget, memory, staff). Common in computing and planning contexts; distinguish from sense 2, whose object is a person bound by a duty.