overdose

noun, verb — 4 senses

overdose

noun

/ˈəʊvə(ɹ)ˌdəʊs/ · /ˈʌo̞vɚˌdʌo̞s/

Etymology From over- + dose.

1

An excessive and dangerous dose of a drug.

  • to die of a heroin overdose
  • It works for a while, but when Spider-Man maneuvers him ouside the hospital room where Harry is recovering from his overdose, some part of the Goblin's brain that's still the loving father surfaces, drives him unconscious, and when next he wakes up, all memory of his being a super-villain is conveniently wiped clean.2011, Pierre Comtois, Marvel Comics in the 1970s:
2 more examples
  • Drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in West Virginia, and the state leads the country in fatal drug overdoses. OxyContin—nicknamed “hillbilly heroin”—is king.[2012 August 23, Conor Friedersdorf, quoting Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco, “What OxyContin Addicts in West Virginia Tell Us About the War on Drugs”, in The Atlantic:
  • After 15, 30, 60 or 90 days, the animals (n = 5 per time point for each subgroup) were sacrificed via an overdose of ketamine and xylazine hydrochloride (Vetbrands Brazil Limited, Jacareí, SP), and the hemimaxillae were removed and fixed in 10% formalin solution (Fig 1 ).2015 August 14, “Green Tea Modulates Cytokine Expression in the Periodontium and Attenuates Alveolar Bone Resorption in Type 1 Diabetic Rats”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:
Synonyms
overdosage

overdose

verb

/ˌəʊvə(ɹ)ˈdəʊs/

Etymology From over- + dose.

1

To dose to excess; to give an overdose, or too many doses, to someone.

2

To dose excessively, to take an overdose.

  • Be careful not to overdose on those pills.
  • She overdosed on cocaine.
3

Figuratively To indulge in something excessively.

  • They still had Sergio Agüero to bring off the bench and the Etihad was overdosing on optimism. For the game to finish with an aggregate 5-1 score distorts the fact the occasion was full of drama and suspense until Salah’s goal conclusively changed the complexion of the evening.2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian (London):
  • Claude overdosed on smack in a Chicago flophouse three years later.2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 191:
Derived terms
OD, overdoser
Related terms
overdosage

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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