overdrive
Americanverb (used with object)
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to push or carry to excess; overwork.
-
to drive too hard.
noun
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Machinery, Automotive. a device containing a gear set at such ratio and arrangement as to provide a drive shaft speed greater than the engine crankshaft speed.
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Also called hyperdrive. Informal. a state of intense activity or productivity.
The political campaign has shifted into overdrive.
noun
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a very high gear in a motor vehicle used at high speeds to reduce wear and save fuel
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in a state of intense activity
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into a state of intense activity
verb
Etymology
Origin of overdrive
First recorded before 950; Middle English overdriven “to cover over, overpower”; Old English oferdrīfan “to drive away, overthrow”; equivalent to over- ( def. ) + drive ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing overdrive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Homebuilders say even given some relief from litigation, they aren’t sure Proposition 37 would push construction into overdrive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
That went into overdrive when ChatGPT was released in November 2022 and AI became the only game in town.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
And like any lower league club, that success could only be supported by dedicated volunteers, who went into overdrive before the Vase finals.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Indeed, assets managed by leveraged ETFs around the world surged earlier this year as AI mania shifted into overdrive.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 30, 2026
“Hey, Grace,” said Jake, feeling his sweat glands going into overdrive again.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Like the “crashed” truck, the paintings — the décor of an industrial fun house, complete with a soundtrack of autotuned laughter and overdriven guitar dirge — depend on the drama around them.
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
His music married the pomp of musical theater with the overdriven emotions of rock ‘n’ roll, a combination unveiled on “Bat Out of Hell,” the 1977 album he wrote for Meat Loaf.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2021
For years, the title of the band’s first single, “Young Hearts Spark Fire,” was a rallying cry, and the pair’s overdriven, heart-on-sleeve approach reached its apotheosis on 2012’s “Celebration Rock.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 10, 2018
Musselwhite’s tones range from Little Walter-like overdriven vamps to a caressing contribution reminiscent of Larry Adler on the excellent album-ending ballad “Nothing at All.”
From Washington Times ● Mar. 29, 2018
The work was genuine work, and we were not overdriven.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
I’ve been amplifying the ukulele through a pick-up and then overdriving it in a really great tube amp, so the texture became not the stereotypical strum of the ukulele.
From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2011
He also knows that overdriving will only shorten the days of his usefulness; he therefore wisely lets him stagger by unmolested, with his light load.
From The Pirate City An Algerine Tale by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
The overdriving of trail cattle was frequently unavoidable, dry drives and the lack of grass on arid wastes being of common occurrence.
From The Outlet by Andy Adams
To diminish the inducement for overdriving, the method of paying the overseers by crop shares, which commonly prevailed in the colonial period, was generally replaced in the nineteenth century by that of fixed salaries.
From American Negro Slavery A Survey of the Supply, Employment and Control of Negro Labor as Determined by the Plantation Regime by Ulrich Bonnell Phillips
The Clinton tried with me, and I had to keep my esper carefully aimed at the road ahead because I was definitely overdriving my eyesight and reaction-time.
From Highways in Hiding by George Oliver Smith
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
