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

While the artificial intelligence infrastructure investment boom and energy shocks have injected fresh short term uncertainties into the inflation outlook, the broader US economy is not overheating. — CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026

The announcement came a day after cyberattacks caused refrigeration systems to overheat at hundreds of stores in France. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026

Ferrari’s Sunday turned on its head when Lance Stroll’s clutch overheated, forcing him to retire his Aston Martin. — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2026

However, Tesla sued the company after the automaker’s testing found that the adapter could overheat. — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for overheat

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