overspeed

English

Etymology

From over- + speed.

Pronunciation

Verb

overspeed (third-person singular simple present overspeeds, present participle overspeeding, simple past and past participle (mostly US) oversped or (mostly UK) overspeeded)

  1. (intransitive) To travel excessively fast or beyond the permitted rate.
    • 1691, John Evelyn, Kalendarium Hortense:
      Caully-flowers over-speeding to pome and head..should be quite erradicated [sic, meaning eradicated].
  2. (usually transitive, sometimes intransitive, chiefly mechanics) To operate an engine or machine too fast.
    • 1949, A. C. Walshaw, Heat Engines (3 ed.):
      The device should be periodically tested by overspeeding the engine say once a month.

Noun

overspeed (countable and uncountable, plural overspeeds)

  1. Speed that exceeds a reasonable or permitted rate.
    • 1826, Samuel Weller Singer, The Dramatic Works Of William Shakespeare: Macbeth. Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark. King Lear...:
      Trashes are clogs strapped round the neck of a dog to prevent his overspeed.

References

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.