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Synonyms

spill over

British  

verb

  1. (intr, adverb) to overflow or be forced out of an area, container, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the act of spilling over

  2. the excess part of something

  3. economics any indirect effect of public expenditure

  4. astronomy the part of the noise associated with a radio telescope using a dish antenna caused by pick-up by a secondary antenna from directions that do not intercept the dish

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Payment disputes between automakers and suppliers aren’t unusual in the industry, but rarely spill over into court and result in parts shipments being halted.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

And this can spill over beyond the venue itself.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

Unfortunately, any Japanese bond and currency market crisis has the potential to spill over to the world financial market.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

Yet the anxiety of investors could ratchet up again and spill over into stocks and bonds if employment and inflation take a turn for the worse.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 8, 2026

I find a free sink in the corner and stick my head under the faucet, letting cold water spill over my ears.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.