transitive verb
Etymology: work (III)
1. : to subject to thorough examination or study or treatment
shelf stock would get thoroughly worked over as shoppers sought out packages with the latest dates — Modern Packaging
spent some time in working over the available books — A.T.Weaver
working over not only the edge and point but the entire surface of their artifacts — A.L.Kroeber
2.
a. : to do over : rework
saved the play by working the first act over
worked over the old furniture
b. : to revise or alter radically or systematically
the frontier … had worked them over inside — W.P.Webb
3.
a. : to beat up or manhandle especially with deliberate thoroughness
none of them hesitated to work a man over for shifting a little out of line or talking — R.O.Bowen
working them over with sabers, billies, and gun butts — Time
b. : to pick the pockets of
c. : to subject to thorough or systematic artillery fire, bombing, or strafing
destroyers had worked over the point with their five-inch guns — Bill Alcine