overdrive

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

verb (used with object),o·ver·drove, o·ver·driv·en, o·ver·driv·ing.
  1. to push or carry to excess; overwork.

  2. to drive too hard.

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.

Origin of overdrive

1
First recorded before 950; Middle English overdriven “to cover over, overpower”; Old English oferdrīfan “to drive away, overthrow”; equivalent to over- + drive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for overdrive

overdrive

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

  2. in overdrive in a state of intense activity

  1. into overdrive into a state of intense activity

verb(ˌəʊvəˈdraɪv) -drives, -driving, -drove or -driven
  1. (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