overheat

verb

over·​heat ˌō-vər-ˈhēt 

overheated; overheating; overheats

transitive verb

1

: to heat to excess

2

: to stimulate or agitate unduly

intransitive verb

: to become heated beyond a safe or desirable point

Examples of overheat in a Sentence

I overheated the food in the microwave.

Be careful not to overheat the engine.

Recent Examples on the Web

The company says its car can complete two full, consecutive laps of the 12.9-mile Nordschleife circuit without its electric system overheating and reducing power. —Alistair Charlton, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025

For example, while healthy black bears and grizzly bears have more long-distance endurance, polar bears can only exert themselves in short spurts to avoid overheating. —Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 21 Feb. 2025

Plus, it’s filled with duck down and feathers that will insulate your core without causing you to overheat. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 21 Feb. 2025

Reviewers criticized the product, with the A.I. software often giving wrong answers or taking a long time to respond, while the pin’s batteries sometimes overheated. —Erin Griffith, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for overheat

• bittersweet
• celestite
• incomplete
• indiscreet
• marguerite
• obsolete
• overeat
• parakeet
• stillingfleet
• superheat
• amit
• athlete