Link Centre Dictionary

overdrive

overd·rive

UK/ˈəʊvə(ɹ)ˌdɹaɪv/ US/ˈoʊvɜrˌdraɪv/ uncommon dated slang
verb (2) noun (2)

verb

1.

drive or work too hard

  • “The teacher is overworking his students”
  • “Overdriving people often suffer stress”
2.

make use of too often or too extensively

Synonyms

noun

1.

the state of high or excessive activity or productivity or concentration

  • “Troops are ready to go into overdrive as soon as the signal is given”
  • “Melissa”
2.

a high gear used at high speeds to maintain the driving speed with less output power

Origin

From Middle English overdriven, from Old English oferdrīfan, equivalent to over- + drive. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uurdrieuwe (“to overdo, overstate”), Dutch overdrijven (“to exaggerate”), German Low German overdrieven, överdrieven (“to overdo, exaggerate”), German übertreiben (“to overdo, exaggerate”), Norwegian overdrive (“to exaggerate”).

Phrases

  • Georgia overdrive
  • Jewish overdrive
  • Mexican overdrive
  • Polish overdrive

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.