A supercharged engine has extra air pushed into it under pressure by a device called a supercharger. More air means more fuel can burn, and more burning means more power, so a supercharged car is faster and stronger than the same car without it. You will see the word on cars, motorbikes, boats and aircraft, and car lovers use it happily and often. Outside machines, the word has grown a wide everyday use meaning 'made much more powerful, faster or more intense than normal': a supercharged economy, a supercharged debate, supercharged emotions, a supercharged version of an app. In this looser sense it usually sounds exciting and positive, though it can hint that something is running so hot it may be hard to control. It works as an adjective before a noun, and it is also the past form of the verb 'supercharge', so you can say a new law supercharged the housing market. One technical point worth keeping straight: a supercharger is driven by the engine itself, while a turbocharger is spun by the exhaust gases. Both push in extra air, but they are not the same part.