Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A gearing mechanism of a motor vehicle engine that reduces the power output required to maintain driving speed in a specific range by lowering the gear ratio.
- noun Informal A state of heightened activity or concentration.
- transitive verb To drive (a vehicle) too far or too long.
- transitive verb To push (oneself) too far, as in the performance of tasks.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To drive too hard; drive or work to exhaustion.
- To use to excess.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- verb To drive too hard, or far, or beyond strength.
- noun (Machinery) A gearing device which causes the drive shaft of an automobile or other machine to rotate at a speed greater than that of the engine crankshaft.
- noun (Automotive) The gear setting of a motor vehicle at which the overdrive{1} is operative.
- noun A state of unusually intense activity; ; -- used mostly of the activities of persons or groups.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun dated A
gear , on an automobile, higher than the normal top gear. - noun A state of heightened activity.
- verb transitive To
drive too hard, or far, or beyond strength.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb drive or work too hard
- noun the state of high or excessive activity or productivity or concentration
- noun a high gear used at high speeds to maintain the driving speed with less output power
- verb make use of too often or too extensively
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Your mysophobia is in overdrive - if you 'hover' at home I would think that would just be inviting more germs rather than sitting and giving yourself a little bit of a seal.
Stuff My Wife Says That Disturbs Me Tyler 2009
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Frieze Art Fair and other openingsIt's Frieze week, which means that London's art world is in overdrive as a rush of exhibitions open at museums, galleries and one-off venues.
This week's new exhibitions Robert Clark 2010
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My creativity, while not on overdrive, is still humming, and I think this would help me, if nothing else, give some structure to some ideas jumping around in my head.
Monday Assessment daj42 2009
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Ever since the dissolution of Parliament and the announcement of the Kuwaiti elections (to be held May 16) bloggers have been in overdrive posting about the ongoing drama and the cynicism concerning our upcoming elections (our third in four years).
Global Voices in English » Kuwait: Election rhetoric, arrests and the whole shebang 2009
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We will be smarter; we will be a “populace stuck in overdrive, searching out the last bits of competitive advantage.”
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The Republicans are in overdrive trying to derail the health care bill even though we clearly need it.
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With national support now ramping up for Brown and the Brown Brigade kicking in overdrive results are going to change quickly in favor of brown.
Rasmussen: Coakley/Brown 50/41. - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState 2010
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We will be smarter; we will be a “populace stuck in overdrive, searching out the last bits of competitive advantage.”
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That motor was in overdrive as Sablikova crossed the finish line in 6 minutes, 50.91 seconds in the final pair.
Canada's Hughes bows out with bronze; Sablikova takes gold 2010
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How … Sources: Obama, Dems to hold informal talks on health care (CNN) Health talks in overdrive, eyes on [...]
Matthew Yglesias » Was Health Reform a Political Blunder? How Could We Know? 2010
dailyword commented on the word overdrive
Holmes would often do this to himself while working on cases and he and Watson would have to go away on vacation for Holmes to recover.
July 26, 2012