to make someone or something do more than they can or should do:Analystsworrythat the company'srapidgrowthis overstretchingitsresources.overstretch yourselfAmbition hascausedsome medium-sizedfirmsto overstretch themselves.FINANCEtospendorborrowmoremoneythan you canpay:overstretch yourselfFirst-time homebuyers must takecarenot to overstretch themselves.Somelendersencouragepeopleto overstretch.
See also
overextend(Definition ofoverstretchfrom theCambridge Business English Dictionary? Cambridge University Press)
Examplesofoverstretch
overstretchThere was a latent risk of 'architecturaloverstretch' - an architect's dream that would sink on such harsh facts as land ownership, financial and legal control.From theCambridge English CorpusThey argued that the heavily overstretched logistics system would be an impediment to anything more than a limited military operation.From theCambridge English CorpusThey also impose a collective burden, leading to greater costs and public health problems that an already overstretched health system can ill afford.From theCambridge English CorpusTrue to himself, he did nothing by halves, and overstretched himself physically, mentally and financially on his expeditions.From theCambridge English CorpusConsequent in-migration overstretched fragile urban facilities, which led in many cases to a decline in urban life quality.From theCambridge English CorpusThe bonds of society may be too lax; but they may also be overstretched.From theCambridge English CorpusSpecialist nurses are highly valued by patients and their families but the service is overstretched and access is difficult.From theCambridge English CorpusAlthough the authors prove to be highly creative, particularly in terms of concept formation and measurement, conceptual 'overstretch' may have occurred in a few places.From theCambridge English CorpusThese refugees entered an area that was already overstretched.From theCambridge English CorpusFor them, of much more pressing concern was the imminent subsistence crisis compounded by increasing and seemingly arbitrary fiscal demands on their already overstretched resources.From theCambridge English CorpusThen they move along with the spike, eventually overstretching the mesh geometry and resulting in a loss of precision over a long time period.From theCambridge English CorpusThe resources of the quarantine authorities and station were significantly overstretched by the greatly increased numbers of those, both healthy and infected, who had to be accommodated.From theCambridge English CorpusWhen considering manpower and structures, we must consider the impact ofoverstretch, and the effect of active service absence on service families.From theHansard archiveExample from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0I strongly support the concerns that they expressed about the impact ofoverstretch.From theHansard archiveExample from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0We should have no doubts at the outset of the origins ofoverstretch.From theHansard archiveExample from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.#https://dictionary.cambridge.org//dictionary/english/overstretch##
