overheat
/ˌoʊvɚˈhit/verb, noun
overheat is spelled O-V-E-R-H-E-A-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,660th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, overheat means “To heat excessively” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overheat?
| Letters | 8: O-V-E-R-H-E-A-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 41,660th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is overheat?
Overheat appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 41,660th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce overheat?
- US /ˌoʊvɚˈhit/
- UK /ˌəʊvəˈhiːt/
Overheat has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-overheat.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with overheat
Also written: over-heat (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with overheat?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as overheat from its last stressed vowel (/it/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of overheat
- overheats present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- overheating participle, present
- overheated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overheat mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To heat excessively.
- 2
To become excessively hot.
- 3
To grow too quickly in an uncontrolled way.
noun
- 1
A condition of being overheated.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overheat in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | surchauffer |
| German | überhitzen |
| Portuguese | sobreaquecer , rescaldar |
| Spanish | sobrecalentar, recalentar, rechizar , sobrecalentarse, recalentarse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does overheat come from?
From Middle English overheten. Cognate with German überheizen, überhitzen (“to overheat”), Swedish överhetta (“to overheat”). By surface analysis, over- + heat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).