How to Use overstretch in a Sentence

overstretch

1 of 2 noun
  • Now Syria has become a symbol of overstretch.
    — Jeremy Shapiro, The Atlantic, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Naturally, a tear is worse than simply an overstretch.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • The latter is seen as preferable by many, but potentially an optimistic choice that doesn’t address the problem of fiscal overstretch.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 Nov. 2025
  • The overriding issue here is what the Yale historian Paul Kennedy called imperial overstretch.
    — Frank Costigliola, Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan. 2023
  • But the cost of this imperial overstretch has prompted Washington to shift the cost burden toward its former allies, leading to a new militarization in Europe and East Asia where most countries now aim to increase military spending.
    — John Rennie Short, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025

overstretch

2 of 2 verb
  • These cuts had left trust and safety teams overstretched, two of these senior sources say.
    — WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023
  • This tissue, when overused or overstretched, can become inflamed, causing pain.
    — Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 8 Apr. 2023
  • The abnormal curve can cause muscles to be tight and overstretched on one section of the spine and compressed on another.
    — Stuart Hershman, Verywell Health, 26 June 2023
  • Classes are overcrowded, resources are thin and teachers are overstretched.
    — Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
  • Starbucks has taken steps to address workers’ complaints about being overstretched in stores.
    — Noam Scheiber, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Relief efforts in Gaza are already overstretched, as trucks and fuel remain in short supply.
    — Alex Horton, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
  • American power must be delimited; it must not be overstretched.
    — Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2025
  • The brain responds by stopping the inhalation from overstretching the delicate linings of the lungs.
    — The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2025
  • However, anyone can tear their Achilles tendon – which connects the calf muscle to the heel bone – if the tendon is overstretched.
    — Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 12 Sep. 2023
  • As yet, there are no contingency plans for handling clusters of cases that might overstretch health care facilities.
    — Dennis Normile, Science | AAAS, 9 June 2021
  • Bettner acts as the group’s big-picture planner, finding ways to work with agencies without overstretching their thinning resources.
    — Calista Oetama, Sacbee.com, 6 Aug. 2025
  • The severity and thus the impact of an abdominal muscle strain depends on how badly the muscle fibers were overstretched or torn and how many muscle fibers were involved.
    — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • With the reservoirs at the big upstream dams at near full capacity, water is being allowed to flow downstream, where the valley’s grid of canals, pipes and ditches is overstretched and spilling.
    — Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2023
  • The real insight of the debate over administrative effectiveness was that governments could overstretch themselves by taking on too many tasks.
    — Harold James, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2021
  • Because most Venezuelans abroad are in the region, any shock that tightens job markets, overstretches schools and clinics, or disrupts cross-border travel could push households to move again.
    — Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025
  • However, elastic waistbands can deteriorate and overstretch over time.
    — Sian Babish, chicagotribune.com, 19 Dec. 2020
  • Officials have attributed those schedule changes to the impacts of last July’s redistricting and the need to be cautious about overstretching the program.
    — Darcy Costello, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2024
  • Mutations build up over time in the cells, sometimes causing the production of defunct proteins, which makes those rubber bands overstretched or less snappy, Studenski says.
    — Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 2 July 2023
  • Meanwhile, many non-profits, especially at the local level, are overstretched as major disasters become more frequent and destructive.
    — Lauren Lee, CNN, 14 Apr. 2023
  • An ankle sprain occurs when the ligaments that stabilize the ankle are overstretched or torn, most often when the foot rolls inward during a sudden change of direction, awkward landing, or misstep.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 June 2026
  • The country is facing long-term headwinds from an ageing population, chronically weak growth and overstretched public services, amplified by a surge in borrowing costs.
    — Reuters, Fortune Europe, 20 Nov. 2023
  • That would place additional demand on a network of clinics that is already overstretched, particularly in states that have become destinations for people who must travel for care.
    — Jamie Ducharme, Time, 18 Aug. 2023
  • That abduction overstretches and weakens the muscles that control the scapula, including the middle traps, lower traps, and rhomboids, which can lead to pain and increase injury risk in the upper back and shoulders.
    — Jenny McCoy, SELF, 25 Aug. 2025
  • And with today's 15-year refinance rate holding well below the 6% mark, some borrowers may find a rare window to reduce both their rate and their timeline without overstretching their budget.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 29 Dec. 2025
  • Omar’s growing outrage, especially when precious time is lost because of jammed phone lines, troubling silences and false assumptions, rankles Mahdi, the most overstretched of anyone at the call center.
    — Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The 59-foot duck became overstretched due to hot weather and rising air pressure, organizers said according to the Associated Press.
    — Camille Fine, USA TODAY, 12 June 2023
  • However, Boulos is overstretched, with a mandate covering the entire continent and limited institutional clout.
    — Liam Karr, Time, 8 Dec. 2025
  • Accounts from Myanmar army soldiers who have surrendered or defected over the past three months reveal that the military is suffering from plunging morale and overstretched logistics amid a rebel offensive that has prompted mass surrenders.
    — Rebecca Tan, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2024
  • Its environmental agencies are overstretched and underfinanced, its activities often hampered by politics.
    — Sabrina Weiss, The Dial, 23 Sep. 2025
  • The American shipbuilding industry is already overstretched, with the country’s two submarine shipyards suffering from capacity and workforce issues.
    — Ellen Nakashima, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Mar. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overstretch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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