overdrive

Meaning

Verb

To drive too hard, or far, or beyond strength.

Noun

1. (countable, dated, uncountable) A gear, on an automobile, higher than the traditional top gear, mainly to allow better fuel economy at highway speeds. In the 21st century, such gears are no longer viewed as "extra" and thus rarely called by this name.
2. (figuratively, uncountable) A state of heightened activity.
3. (countable, euphemistic, slang, uncountable) Freewheeling (driving a vehicle with the transmission in neutral) on downhill stretches to achieve higher fuel economy and/or speed than otherwise. In colloquial registers, ethnically bigoted variants have been common, such as Jewish overdrive (alluding to the stereotype of miserly Jews) or Mexican overdrive or Polish overdrive (alluding to stereotypes of foolishness and poverty).
4. (countable, uncountable) A gear ratio higher than 1:1: one in which a single revolution of the driving element corresponds to more than one revolution of the driven element.

Opposite of

low gear

Synonyms

overuse

fag out

jade

override

wear out

overexcitation

over drive

exhaust

overspeed drive

Translations

afjakkeren

afbeulen

afmatten

ultrapassagem

overdrive

übersteuern

κατακουράζω

Schnellgang

sobremarxa

surmultipliée

survirer

surutiliser

surrégime

abusare

υπερτάχυνση

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈdɹaɪv/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: overdriven

Inherited from Old English: oferdrīfan

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: uurdrieuwe

Cognate with Dutch: overdrijven

Cognate with German: übertreiben

Cognate with Norwegian: overdrive

In summary

From Middle English overdriven, from Old English oferdrīfan, equivalent to over- + drive. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uurdrieuwe (“to overdo, overstate”), Dutch overdrijven (“to exaggerate”), German Low German overdrieven, överdrieven (“to overdo, exaggerate”), German übertreiben (“to overdo, exaggerate”), Norwegian overdrive (“to exaggerate”).