work over

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work over

verb works over · working over · worked over

transitive To improve a prototype, or first draft. The estimated figures are not bad, but somebody will have to work them over.
Similar: polish, rework
idiomatic, slang, transitive To physically attack in order to cause injury. He'll talk, once we work him over.
Similar: beat up
idiomatic, slang, transitive To subject (a person) to a severe scolding, interrogation, beating, etc. The desk sergeant worked him over pretty good and finally turned him over to the detective squad.

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MLA

"work over." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/work%20over. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

work over. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/work%20over

Chicago

"work over." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/work%20over.

BibTeX

@misc{work_over_2026,
  title = {work over},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/work%20over},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}