ENGLISH
REFERENCE

overheat

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈoʊvɝˌhit// UK //ˌəʊvəhˈiːt// over·heat

v. to become too hot, especially for a machine or a person. It can also describe an economy that grows too fast and becomes unstable.

v. to become excessively hot, typically leading to a malfunction or health risk. In an economic context, it refers to a period of rapid growth that eventually leads to a correction or crash.


SIMPLE

The computer will overheat if you leave it in the sun.

CONTEXTUAL

Economists warned that the housing market was beginning to overheat as prices rose faster than wages.

COMPLEX

While the initial surge in consumer spending was welcomed, the central bank feared the economy was overheating, leading to a rapid increase in inflation that would require an emergency interest rate hike.

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