overflow
Americanverb (used without object)
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to flow or run over, as rivers or water.
After the thaw, the river overflows and causes great damage.
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to have the contents flowing over or spilling, as an overfull container.
Stop pouring or your glass is going to overflow.
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to pass from one place or part to another as if flowing from an overfull space.
The population overflowed into the adjoining territory.
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to be filled or supplied with in great measure.
a heart overflowing with gratitude; a region overflowing with orchards and vineyards.
verb (used with object)
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to flow over; flood; inundate.
The river overflowed several farms.
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to flow over or beyond (the brim, banks, borders, etc.).
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to cause to overflow.
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to flow over the edge or brim of (a receptacle, container, etc.).
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to fill to the point of running over.
noun
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an overflowing.
the annual overflow of the Nile.
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something that flows or runs over.
to carry off the overflow from a fountain.
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a portion crowded out of an overfilled place.
to house the overflow of the museum's collection in another building.
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an excess or superabundance.
an overflow of applicants for the job.
- Synonyms:
- glut, flood, plethora, surplus, overabundance
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an outlet or receptacle for excess liquid.
The tank is equipped with an overflow.
verb
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to flow or run over (a limit, brim, bank, etc)
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to fill or be filled beyond capacity so as to spill or run over
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to be filled with happiness, tears, etc
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(tr) to spread or cover over; flood or inundate
noun
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overflowing matter, esp liquid
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any outlet that enables surplus liquid to be discharged or drained off, esp one just below the top of a tank or cistern
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the amount by which a limit, capacity, etc, is exceeded
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computing a condition that occurs when numeric operations produce results too large to store in the memory space assigned to it
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overflowsimple
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overflowssimple
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have overflowedperfect
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have overflownperfect
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has overflowedperfect
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has overflownperfect
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am overflowingprogressive
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are overflowingprogressive
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is overflowingprogressive
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have been overflowingperfect progressive
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has been overflowingperfect progressive
Past
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overflowedsimple
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had overflowedperfect
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had overflownperfect
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was overflowingprogressive
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were overflowingprogressive
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had been overflowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overflow
before 900; Middle English overflowen, Old English oferflōwan. See over-, flow
Explanation
To overflow is to go beyond filling something with a liquid, so that it gushes over the edges. During heavy rainstorms, rivers sometimes overflow their banks and flood the surrounding land. Bathwater will overflow the tub if you don't turn the water off, and if you keep pouring coffee after your cup is full, it will also overflow. Literal overflowing involves liquid, but you can also use this verb to mean "fill a container" or "fill with feeling." So your arms can overflow with flowers, and your heart can overflow with happiness. The Old English root is oferfleow, "flood" or "inundate."
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.
See Examples For:
Extreme weather has already wreaked havoc on southern and central China this week, with storms leaving at least 39 dead and causing dozens of rivers to overflow and a reservoir dam to burst.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
This has led to a 41% reduction in spills from each storm overflow in 2025, compared with 2024, despite experiencing heavier rainfall than some other regions.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
To handle the extra volume, engineers send surplus water down 5 Shaft into the deep pool below, much like an overflow spillway helps relieve pressure at a full reservoir.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
If the best fleets can generate their own demand in dense markets, Uber’s aggregation value shrinks to secondary cities and overflow capacity.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
Both Ann and C.P. always brought with them a phalanx of supporters, creating an overflow crowd.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Because I’m a stranger who people regularly turn to for financial help, my inbox typically overflows with general questions like the one above.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Any cost overflows would be paid for by DWP customers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Retrofitting the warehouse for immigration detention would create construction sediment that would run into nearby waterways, Maryland’s lawsuit argued, and housing hundreds of people there would strain the water supply and create sewage overflows.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2026
Nationally, between 23,000 and 75,000 overflows release 3 billion to 10 billion gallons of sewage a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
We are in the aisle of feminine products, and she's standing there with an empty basket, unlike mine, which overflows with items I've collected but cannot buy.
From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon
Mail-order catalogs such as the midcentury Sears, Roebuck Christmas edition overflowed with evocative shades—winterberry, burnished beige, rico green—meant to conjure a feeling as much as a hue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Although recovery efforts were under way in parts of the city, some outlying areas remained at risk as a nearby river overflowed, forcing another 500 people to evacuate on Thursday morning.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
Water gathered in low-lying valleys and river channels, overflowed crater rims, and rushed through canyons.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 31, 2025
In Haiti, many of the victims in the storm died when a river overflowed in Petit-Goave.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025
They walked deeper into the neighborhood, avoiding the puddles of dirty water that overflowed from the gutters and dodging the piles of garbage in which cats were digging like silent shadows.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
The victims died on Sunday and Monday in Minas Gerais state, where rivers have overflown, leaving towns partially submerged.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2022
Its military this month deployed tanks to the Tajik border with Afghanistan and has overflown the region with ground-attack jets, ostensibly on training exercises.
From New York Times ● Jul. 29, 2021
"That island was overflown by a plane catapulted from the USS Colorado a few days after she went missing. The pilot didn't see any recent activity."
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2019
According to the Palestinian Ma’an news agency, several Israeli bulldozers entered the southern Gaza Strip early on Thursday overflown by drones, which would fit with the timeframe described by the Israeli military.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 18, 2016
Four days after launching Sputnik into orbit, Radio Moscow announced the addition of one more city to its timetable of destinations that would be overflown by their satellite: Little Rock, Arkansas.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Hold back a little of the white if necessary to prevent it from overflowing.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
During the previous attack, they had left home too late, found the station already overflowing, and had to use an underpass for shelter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
"By reusing plastic waste that is already in Hawaii, we can reduce the environmental and economic impacts of transporting waste plastics from the islands, incinerating it or dumping it in Hawaii's overflowing landfills."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026
As Al Michel and Mike Sugerman tell it, the first rendition of their L.A. softball team was overflowing with “geeks,” “nerds” and “goofs.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Looking up from my drawing, I watch all of them as they eat, talking about what Stella will do now, their words overflowing with love for her.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
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.
