1. countable noun [usually singular, oft NOUN noun]
The overdrive in a vehicle is a very high gear that is used when you are driving at high speeds.
The overdrive switch was on the steering column.
2.
See into/in overdrive
overdrive in British English
noun (ˈəʊvəˌdraɪv)
1.
a very high gear in a motor vehicle used at high speeds to reduce wear and save fuel
2. in overdrive
3. into overdrive
verb (ˌəʊvəˈdraɪv)Word forms: -drives, -driving, -drove or -driven
4. (transitive)
to drive too hard or too far; overwork or overuse
overdrive in American English
(ˈoʊvərˌdraɪv)
noun
1.
a gear that at a certain speed automatically reduces an engine's power output without reducing its driving speed: used to lessen fuel consumption and engine wear
2. Informal
a state of intensified activity, productivity, etc.
overdrive in Automotive Engineering
(oʊvərdraɪv)
Word forms: (regular plural) overdrives
noun
(Automotive engineering: Vehicle components, Engine, transmission, and exhaust)
The overdrive in a vehicle is a very high gear that is used when you are driving at high speeds.
COLLOCATIONS: in ~~ gear
The well-engineered gear ratios give it an overdrive in the fourth and fifth gears.
Fourth gear is needed for quick moves in traffic because fifth gear is an overdrive gear for relaxed highway cruising.
I got 25 mpg on the highway during steady cruising in sixth overdrive at 65 mph.
More idioms containing
overdrive
go into overdrive
Examples of 'overdrive' in a sentence
overdrive
It strikes when the immune system goes into overdrive trying to heal injury or infection - and can be deadly.
The Sun (2016)
And he was quickly into overdrive in yesterday 's final round to leave his rivals trailing in his slipstream.
The Sun (2016)
If the brain tells the nervous system that it has to cope with excessive demand, the sympathetic nervous system switches into overdrive.
Vera Peiffer POSITIVE THINKING: Everything you have always known about positive thinking but wereafraid to put into practice (2001)
The hardest part is definitely being in a minority opinion, then having to work on overdrive trying to persuade others to your way of thinking.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
His forte is that he can dismiss inferior opponents without engaging overdrive, the gear that does so much to dim the appetite for future struggles.