to stress (a metal or other body) to the point of deformation
Word origin
[1915–20; over- + stress]This word is first recorded in the period 1915–20. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: collage, conditioning, soviet, stockpile, takeoutover- is a prefixal use of over, occurring in various senses in compounds (overboard; overcoat; overhang; overlap; overlord; overrun; overthrow), and especially employed, with the sense of “over the limit,” “to excess,” “toomuch,” “too,” to form verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and nouns (overact; overcapitalize; overcrowd; overfull; overmuch; oversupply; overweight), and many others, mostly self-explanatory: a hyphen, which is commonly absent fromold or well-established formations, is sometimes used in new coinages or in any wordswhose component parts it may be desirable to set off distinctly
Examples of 'overstress' in a sentence
overstress
The inertial effects of the counterweight can overstress the guide rails on which it moves.
Rildova, M.P. Singh 2005, 'Acceleration Feedback-Based Active and Semi-Active Seismic Response Control of Rail-CounterweightSystems of Elevators', Shock and Vibrationhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2005/130907. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)