work over

verb

worked over; working over; works over

transitive verb

1

: to subject to thorough examination, study, or treatment

shelf stock worked over by shoppers

2

: to do over : rework

saved the play by working the first act over

3

: to beat up or manhandle with thoroughness

My boxing opponent worked me over in the ring.

Synonyms

• bash
• baste
• bat
• batter
• beat
• belabor
• belt
• birch
• bludgeon
• buffet
• bung up
• club
• curry
• do
• drub
• fib [British]
• flog
• hammer
• hide
• lace
• lambaste
• lambast
• lash
• lather
• lick
• maul
• mess (up)
• paddle
• pelt
• pommel
• pound
• pummel
• punch out
• rough (up)
• slate
• slog
• switch
• tan
• thrash
• thresh
• thump
• tromp
• wallop
• whale
• whip
• whop
• whap
• whup

Examples of work over in a Sentence

the mob boss's thugs really worked him over

Recent Examples on the Web

There will also be questions about his weight (though he’s done great work over the last eight months to get into the best shape of his career). —Sam Vecenie, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025

However, this strategy will not work over the long-term. —Jonathan I. Shenkman, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024

Administrators of a fund established after a gunman opened fire at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce worked over the holiday week to distribute, often personally, checks to survivors of the mass shooting and relatives of those who were killed. —Grant Lancaster, arkansasonline.com, 29 Dec. 2024

His finest work over the last decade has been the product of huddling with a single producer (the 2013 Dām Funk team-up 7 Days of Funk, 2015’s Bush with the Neptunes). —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined at sense 2