Overextended

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. To have exhausted one's capacity or resources by taking on too many obligations or tasks
2. To be in a state of having stretched oneself too thin through excessive commitments or responsibilities
3. Having gone beyond what one can manage or sustain in terms of effort or resources

Etymology: The word is built from "over-" and "extend," and its history is plain: "over-" is a prefix meaning excessively or beyond a limit, and "extend" comes from Latin "extendere," meaning to stretch out. Combined, the sense is stretching something past its proper limit, a physical image that later came to describe stretched finances, forces and people. The "-ed" ending simply marks the state of having been stretched in that way. Because the word is a straightforward combination of two existing English elements, there is no single coiner or dramatic shift to report. The figurative use of "extend" for stretching resources or commitments is what gives "overextended" its present meaning, most often applied to businesses, military forces, and individuals who take on more than they can manage.

Synonyms: overburdened, overstretched

Antonyms: consolidated