overheat

From Middle English overheten, equivalent to over- +‎ heat. Cognate with German überheizen, überhitzen (“to overheat”), Swedish överhetta (“to overheat”).

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌoʊvɚˈhit/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌəʊvəˈhiːt/
• Rhymes: -iːt

overheat (third-person singular simple present overheats, present participle overheating, simple past and past participle overheated)

1. (transitive) To heat excessively.
   • 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 8, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 131:

     'Made one quite thankful to get back to the fug, though as a rule I think the way these trains are overheated is something scandalous'.

2. (intransitive) To become excessively hot.
3. (economics) To grow too quickly in an uncontrolled way.
   • 2011 July 18, John Cassidy, “Mastering the Machine”, in The New Yorker‎, →ISSN:

     Dalio said that the Chinese economy was in danger of overheating, and somebody asked how a Chinese slowdown would affect the price of oil and other commodities.

• overheater

overheat (plural overheats)

1. A condition of being overheated.
   • 2002, Earl Rogers, Captain, page 245:

     Continued operation with an overheat could lead to other serious problems, perhaps even a fire.

• overhate