overdrive
noun
over·drive
ˈō-vər-ˌdrīv 
1
: an automotive transmission gear that transmits to the drive shaft a speed greater than engine speed
2
: a state of heightened activity
going into rhetorical overdrive
Examples of overdrive in a Sentence
He put the car into overdrive.
His acting career is in overdrive.
The reporters went into overdrive to finish their stories on time.
Recent Examples on the Web
Hamilton's bombshell Ferrari move was announced in February last year, which sent the entire F1 driver market into overdrive.
—
Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
The chatter around whether JD Vance wears eyeliner kicked into overdrive today when the vice president appeared at a press conference with his boss, Donald Trump, and their visiting guest, Ireland’s prime minister Micheal Martin.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 12 Mar. 2025
Under the Trump administration, that push has gone into overdrive and is playing out in ways that are hard for outside observers to decipher, said Brian Redmon, executive vice president with Arco Real Estate Solutions in Golden.
—Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2025
The crowd late Sunday at the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills was a Google image search of famous faces on overdrive, with attendees as varied as Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber; Jon Hamm and Bowen Yang; Lil Nas X and Connie Britton.
—Dan Heching, CNN, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overdrive
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Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
The chatter around whether JD Vance wears eyeliner kicked into overdrive today when the vice president appeared at a press conference with his boss, Donald Trump, and their visiting guest, Ireland’s prime minister Micheal Martin.
—Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 12 Mar. 2025
Under the Trump administration, that push has gone into overdrive and is playing out in ways that are hard for outside observers to decipher, said Brian Redmon, executive vice president with Arco Real Estate Solutions in Golden.
—Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 6 Mar. 2025
The crowd late Sunday at the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills was a Google image search of famous faces on overdrive, with attendees as varied as Kim Kardashian and Hailey Bieber; Jon Hamm and Bowen Yang; Lil Nas X and Connie Britton.
—Dan Heching, CNN, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overdrive
Cite this Entry
“Overdrive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overdrive. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
overdrive
noun
over·drive
ˈō-vər-ˌdrīv
: a transmission gear in an automobile that allows the drive shaft to operate at a speed greater than that of the engine crankshaft
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