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

Dedicated shaded areas will also be essential for PR check-ins, helping prevent iPads from overheating and shutting down in direct sunlight. — Laure Guilbault, Vogue, 23 June 2026

If your car overheats this summer on an extremely hot day, take the proper precautions to avoid any injuries and prevent further damage to your vehicle's major mechanical components. — Charles Singh, USA Today, 22 June 2026

Not overheating, but definitely on fire. — Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 22 June 2026

Water cooling is one of the solutions to manage this, and ensure that the compute, transmit and switching infrastructure does not overheat and fail. — Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 21 June 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