What's the difference between outdo and overdo?

Outdo


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To go beyond in performance; to excel; to surpass.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) A knowledge gained of the biosynthesis of steroids and its specific enzymes helped to initiate my general polyketide theory of biosynthesis and also my idea of outdoing enzyme achievements with organometallic complexes ("inorganic enzyme chemistry").
  • (2) Despite growth outdoing the eurozone since the financial crisis, a housing boom and falling taxes, Löfven hopes to capitalise on voters seeking a return to Sweden's older image of cradle-to-grave welfare and job security.
  • (3) The world is in awe of China’s relentless capacity to produce gargantuan cities, each outdoing the most recent superlative that describes its predecessor.
  • (4) The prime minister we hired to take decisions on our behalf has passed the buck back to us for tactical party reasons and resigned when he didn’t like our answer, David Cameron outdoing even Ed Miliband’s resignation for irresponsibility.
  • (5) After all, what some psychologists call the Remus complex would have been operative in that hypothetical scenario: namely, the resentment of the younger brother towards his more successful elder brother would have induced Ed to strive to outdo David.
  • (6) We don’t want to not get on again,” Evans joked to Le Blanc between takes when the pair were trying to outdo each other while filming trailers for the show.
  • (7) It is the latest high-profile initiative among retailers eager to outdo each other in terms of green credentials.
  • (8) He is never going to outdo José Mourinho when it comes to confrontation, brittle one-liners and media positioning – the Chelsea manager is simply too well-practised – but his team reminded everyone here why they are such formidable opponents, and that is always the best way to win these arguments.
  • (9) "The keynote of this book is authenticity", warned Vivian, adding that Mackenzie was clearly determined to "outdo in outspokenness and realism" an officially approved account of British intelligence during the first world war that had been published earlier.
  • (10) They spent Sunday trying to outdo each other’s expressions of outrage, while Britain joined in from the sidelines .
  • (11) The end of council housing Read more Granted, the housing and planning bill can never outdo the excitement surrounding the ups and downs of Hilary Benn, the new Mr Darcy of every wet-eyed columnist.
  • (12) They customise their bikes to outdo their mates, replacing mudguard flaps, say, with ones made of fine leather or bits of plastic with machined titanium.
  • (13) So much international research now shows that if a pupil has application and determination he or she can outdo a child with [a higher] IQ who's got no determination and motivation.
  • (14) The Iran nuclear debate was supposed to play to his strengths on foreign policy, but with every Republican in the race trying to outdo the other in depicting the deal as the worst thing to happen to US foreign policy since Pearl Harbor he is not getting much traction.
  • (15) Other artists will try to outdo them, girls will practise their moves and thanks to them, the idea persists that women who engage in lesbian activity, without calling themselves lesbians, do this for attention.
  • (16) Affronted by the coalition's evocation of a smaller, cheaper public sector, Glasman wants to outdo compassionate conservatism with a Labour vision of "the common good".
  • (17) Ryan Shorthouse, the director of the Tory modernising Bright Blue thinktank, told the Guardian last month that Downing Street should focus on a "balanced, moderate message" – to include an increase in the minimum wage – rather than trying to "outdo Ukip" on immigration.
  • (18) Ever since celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal's whole-candied-orange-stuffed Christmas pudding for Waitrose proved a massive hit in 2010 and the following year, retailers and their suppliers have been vying to outdo each other for the "wow" dessert of the season.
  • (19) He clocked up 18 years in power, outdoing Leonid Brezhnev.
  • (20) Perhaps the most worrying part for the teams hoping to outdo Manchester City is that the champions have continued from where they left off last season, while also leaving the clear impression there is better to come.

Overdo


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To do too much; to exceed what is proper or true in doing; to exaggerate; to carry too far.
  • (v. t.) To overtask. or overtax; to fatigue; to exhaust; as, to overdo one's strength.
  • (v. t.) To surpass; to excel.
  • (v. t.) To cook too much; as, to overdo the meat.
  • (v. i.) To labor too hard; to do too much.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) And when they emerge into the daylight, the chancellor could, once again, be left looking like a salesman who can’t resist overdoing the patter.
  • (2) We have moved far from the ancient Greek principle "Meden agan," "don't overdo anything."
  • (3) Everyone is guilty of overdoing it on Trumpy , because Donald Trump is a jackass of galactic proportions.
  • (4) Adair Turner, the former chairman of the Financial Services Authority, told BBC2's Newsnight last week that the government could be overdoing stimulus to the housing market, which may cause future problems.
  • (5) This paper discusses whether countries in the "developed" world are overdoing it, thereby maybe hampering the essential use of chemicals in the developing countries.
  • (6) We want to take users out of hiding and create a situation where we can say: ‘You are overdoing it.
  • (7) Patients are often so anxious to return to activity that they overdo, leading to a decrease in function with a rapid return to the results of inflammation.
  • (8) Being half shut protects you from overdoing it, but there are still plenty of fabulous works, with time and space to enjoy those that catch your eye.
  • (9) We must not overdo it.” The World Cup was expanded from 24 teams to 32 in 1994 but most proposals for further expansion involve convoluted mathematical contortions or leave open the possibility of making the group stages unbalanced.
  • (10) to be on the overdoing side rather than on the underdoing one in a futile attempt at retaining the function.
  • (11) He added: "There is a danger in overdoing the gloom.
  • (12) Sun damage accumulates over time so avoiding sunburn – and sunbeds – is key as well as getting to know your skin type so you don’t overdo it on the beach or even in the garden.
  • (13) "But a lot of the reason why those endless weekends were happening in New York," he goes on more matter-of-factly, "and why there was a lot of overdoing it, was because the party was over.
  • (14) I was overdoing the last bit, as I mentally prepared to step on to the red carpet, enter the pre-ceremony champagne area, witness the ceremony itself and then mingle with the A-listers at the parties afterwards, like one of the grinning poor relations in The Pickwick Papers.
  • (15) In the US, meanwhile, opioid overdoes deaths increased 200% between 2000 and 2014 alone, and admissions to treatment for opioid problems skyrocketed.
  • (16) According to the degree of adjustment to the new clinical condition, it is possible to distinguish patients who react developing an anxious-depressive status (10-20%), those who realistically adjust to the new functional condition allowed by the pacemaker (70-80%) and those who, denying their disease, tend to overdo in their physical performance (10-20%).
  • (17) Jones positions herself as a sage elder counselling Gaga, Cyrus, Rihanna, Minaj, and others, about not overdoing sexuality and controversy, but she takes a few other swipes as well.
  • (18) So while it’s unquestionably the case that some people drink far too much for their own or society’s good and ought to rein in or stop, most people don’t overdo it.
  • (19) And don't overdo it with the housing allowance – avoid any postcode in which Goldman Sachs partners live.
  • (20) You can overdo the comparisons, but let’s at least agree that Trump’s America and Brexit Britain share the same common tragedy: a large chunk of the public that’s had enough of the same-old failed orthodoxy, a technocratic elite that also knows it’s no longer working – and a political class unable to grasp any real alternatives.