overdrive

o·ver·drive

O o

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [verb oh-ver-drahyv; noun oh-ver-drahyv]
- /verb ˌoʊ vərˈdraɪv; noun ˈoʊ vərˌdraɪv/
- /ˈəʊ.və.draɪv/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [verb oh-ver-drahyv; noun oh-ver-drahyv]
- /verb ˌoʊ vərˈdraɪv; noun ˈoʊ vərˌdraɪv/

Definitions of overdrive word

verb with object overdrive to push or carry to excess; overwork. 1
verb with object overdrive to drive too hard. 1
noun overdrive 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. 1
noun overdrive Informal. an intense state of activity or productivity: The political campaign has shifted into overdrive. 1
noun overdrive A gear in a motor vehicle providing a gear ratio higher than that of the drive gear or top gear, so that engine speed and fuel consumption are reduced in highway travel. 1
noun overdrive car: high gear 1

See all 13 definitions of overdrive

Information block about the term

Origin of overdrive

First appearance:

before 950

One of the 4% oldest English words

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

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Overdrive

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Overdrive

overdrive popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 65% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

overdrive usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer