overburden

/ˈoʊvərˈbɜrdən/

Other forms: overburdened; overburdening; overburdens

When you give someone too much to carry, you overburden them. Don't overburden yourself with too much gear in your hiking backpack, or you'll never make it up the mountain!

You can literally overburden someone, which you do whenever you ask them to hold too much weight: "Let me carry some of those books. I don't want you to overburden yourself" There's also a figurative way to overburden another person, by pressuring them or making them work too hard: "If the budget cuts go through and school aides are laid off, it will overburden teachers."

Definitions of overburden

1. verb

   load with excessive weight
   type of:

   burden, burthen, weight, weight down

   weight down with a load
2. verb

   burden with too much work or responsibility
   type of:

   burden, charge, saddle

   impose a task upon, assign a responsibility to
3. noun

   an excessive burden
   synonyms: overload

   type of:

   burden, load, loading

   weight to be borne or conveyed
4. noun

   the surface soil that must be moved away to get at coal seams and mineral deposits
   type of:

   ground, land, soil

   material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use)