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

Topline Almost half a million power bank chargers sold exclusively on Amazon over the last six years have been recalled after dozens of reports of the product expanding, igniting, melting, overheating or smoking while in use. —Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

Garrido also has claimed he was targeted for helping expose a scheme by sheriff’s officials to withhold bonus pay and for calling attention to the death of a police dog who overheated in a sergeant’s car in 2020. —Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024

An autopsy showed the young girl died from hyperthermia, or overheating, according to WPTA. —Sean Neumann, People.com, 9 Dec. 2024

Once the water comes to a boil, auto shutoff turns the base off for you, avoiding overheating. —Will Porter, Architectural Digest, 2 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

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