overcommit

/ˌoʊvər.kəˈmɪt/

to promise or allocate more than one can deliver

She overcommitted to too many projects and couldn't finish any on time.

She took on more tasks than she could realistically complete.

general

to promise or allocate more resources, time, or effort than one can reasonably fulfill

The company overcommitted to its quarterly goals and had to lay off employees.

The company set unrealistic targets and couldn't meet them, leading to layoffs.

He overcommitted to social events and ended up canceling several due to exhaustion.

He accepted too many invitations and couldn't attend all of them.

Often used in professional or personal contexts where time management is critical.

Collocations

overcommit resourcesallocate more resources than availableovercommit to a projecttake on more project work than feasible

to pledge oneself to a task or goal

to schedule two conflicting appointments

Prioritize tasks and set realistic deadlines to prevent overcommitment.

Always leave buffer time between tasks to account for unexpected delays.

From 'over-' (excessively) + 'commit' (to pledge or assign). First recorded in the mid-20th century.

Common in business and personal time management contexts. Can imply poor planning or overconfidence.

over-

excessively

prefix

commit

to pledge or assign

root

English Dictionary