overdrive

American  

[oh-ver-drahyv, oh-ver-drahyv] / ˌoʊ vərˈdraɪv, ˈoʊ vərˌdraɪv /

verb (used with object)

overdrove, overdriven, overdriving

1. to push or carry to excess; overwork.

2. to drive too hard.

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noun

1. 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.

2. Also called hyperdrive.  Informal. a state of intense activity or productivity.

   The political campaign has shifted into overdrive.

overdrive British  

noun

1. a very high gear in a motor vehicle used at high speeds to reduce wear and save fuel

2. in a state of intense activity

3. into a state of intense activity

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verb

1. (tr) to drive too hard or too far; overwork or overuse

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. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

overdrive overdriven overdriving

It's a well-oiled machine, kicked into overdrive by a war more than a thousand kilometres away.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

The higher temperatures promote algae growth by allowing their metabolisms to shift into overdrive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026

Using human Alzheimer's brain cells and other experimental models, the team discovered a chemical change that can push the brain's immune response into overdrive.

From Science Daily ● May 31, 2026

Anthropic’s move sent those concerns into overdrive by raising the possibility that underlying investments might never materialize.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

Mulch could feel every sweat gland on his body pop into instant overdrive.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

A screw that’s not overdriven will hold pieces together for decades.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 11, 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

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 Phillips, Ulrich Bonnell

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 Smith, George Oliver

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 Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)

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 Adams, Andy