overdrive

[verb oh-ver-drahyv; noun oh-ver-drahyv]

verb (used with object), o·ver·drove, o·ver·driv·en, o·ver·driv·ing.

to push or carry to excess; overwork.

to drive too hard.

noun

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.

Informal. an intense state of activity or productivity: The political campaign has shifted into overdrive.

Origin of overdrive

before 950; Middle English overdriven to cover over, overpower; Old English oferdrīfan to drive away, overthrow. See over-, drive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for overdrive

Contemporary Examples of overdrive

When I put their allegations to Epstein, he denied them and went into overdrive.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003
Vicky Ward
January 7, 2015
The Tea Party hate machine has gone into overdrive in South Carolina, so how has Lindsey Graham survived so comfortably?
Lindsey Graham’s Tea Party Teflon
Patricia Murphy
June 10, 2014
Newspapers in the U.K. went into overdrive as they speculated about the likelihood of a fresh royal wedding.
Why Cressida and Harry Split
Tom Sykes
April 30, 2014
The back and forth has sent the gossip blogs into overdrive.
Melissa Etheridge’s Hideous Breakup
Tricia Romano
April 17, 2012
The Palestinian Arab propaganda machine is in overdrive once again.
The Crime of Kufr Qaddoum: An EmergencyStandWithDavidMonitor Animal Rights Division Expose
Eli Valley
March 29, 2012

Historical Examples of overdrive

Air-scarcity killed them before the ship came out of overdrive.
Pariah Planet
Murray Leinster
So they want to use your ship—it's faster in overdrive and so on.
Pariah Planet
Murray Leinster
A ship from Orede had come out of overdrive and lay dead in emptiness.
Pariah Planet
Murray Leinster
The Med Ship broke out of overdrive at 1300 hours, ship time.
Pariah Planet
Murray Leinster
It had gone into overdrive, heading for Dara at many times the speed of light.
Pariah Planet
Murray Leinster

British Dictionary definitions for overdrive

overdrive

noun (ˈəʊvəˌdraɪv)

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

in overdrive in a state of intense activity

into overdrive into a state of intense activity

verb (ˌəʊvəˈdraɪv) -drives, -driving, -drove or -driven

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for overdrive

"speed-increasing gear in an automobile," 1929, from over- + drive (n.).