Meaning & use
overcool
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To make something colder than is wanted, for example food, a room or a machine.
Grammar: Takes an object: do not overcool the dough.
Patterns
- overcool something
Do not overcool the custard or it will become hard to pour.
The old fridge tends to overcool the vegetables at the back.
Be careful not to overcool the room at night.
verbtransitivephysicsspecialist
In physics, to cool a liquid below its normal freezing point without it turning solid.
Grammar: Takes an object, and is often used in the passive: the water was overcooled.
Patterns
- overcool a liquid
Pure water can be overcooled below zero degrees without freezing.
The scientists overcooled the sample and then disturbed it to start crystals forming.
Carefully overcooled liquids freeze suddenly when shaken.
Word forms
| third person singular | overcools |
|---|---|
| past tense | overcooled |
| past participle | overcooled |
| -ing form | overcooling |
Common combinations
- overcool the room
- The air conditioner can overcool the room in minutes.
- overcool the dough
- If you overcool the dough, it will not rise properly.
- easily overcooled
- Pure water is easily overcooled in a very clean container.
- risk overcooling
- Using the freezer drawer risks overcooling the drinks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- supercool
- Supercool is the more standard technical term for cooling a liquid below freezing without it solidifying, while overcool is more general.
- chill
- Chill means to make pleasantly cold and is not negative, whereas overcool implies going too far.
- freeze
- Freeze means turning solid with cold, while overcool means getting colder than wanted, perhaps without freezing.
Opposites
Word family
- overcooled adjective
- made too cold
- overcooling noun
- the act of cooling too much
- cool verb
- to become or make less warm
- supercool verb
- to cool a liquid below freezing without solidifying
Commonly confused: overcool or overcooked?
overcool vs overcooked
Overcooked means cooked for too long, so it is about heat; overcooled is about too much cold.
Practice
If you ___ the wine in the freezer, it may become too cold to taste properly.
Choose one answer.
Overcool means to make something colder than wanted, so it matches a freezer. Overcook relates to heat and cooking food, which does not fit wine in a freezer.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “overcool”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.