overrun
Americanverb (used with object)
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overruns,
present (3rd person singular)
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overran,
past
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overrun,
past participle
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overrunning
present participle
-
to rove over (a country, region, etc.); invade; ravage.
a time when looting hordes had overrun the province.
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to swarm over in great numbers, as animals, especially vermin; infest.
The house had been overrun by rats.
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to spread or grow rapidly over, as plants, especially vines, weeds, etc..
a garden overrun with weeds.
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to attack and defeat decisively, occupying and controlling the enemy's position; overwhelm.
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to spread rapidly throughout, as a new idea or spirit.
a rekindling of scholarship that had overrun Europe.
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to run or go beyond, as a certain limit.
The new jet overran the landing field.
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to exceed, as a budget or estimate.
to overrun one's allotted time.
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to run over; overflow.
During the flood season, the river overruns its banks for several miles.
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Printing.
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to print additional copies of (a book, pamphlet, etc.) in excess of the original or the usual order.
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to carry over (type or words) to another page.
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Nautical.
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to sail past (an intended stopping or turning point) by accident.
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(of a ship) to complete (a schedule of calls) more rapidly than anticipated.
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to outrun; overtake in running.
verb (used without object)
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overruns,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overran,
past
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overrun,
past participle
-
overrunning
present participle
-
to run over; overflow.
a stream that always overruns at springtime.
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to exceed the proper, desired, or normal quantity, limit, order, etc..
Do you want to overrun on this next issue?
noun
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overruns
plural
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an act or instance of overrunning.
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an amount in excess; surplus.
an overrun of 10,000 copies of a new book.
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the exceeding of estimated costs in design, development, and production, especially as estimated in a contract.
a staggering overrun on the new fighter plane.
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the amount exceeded.
an overrun of $500,000 for each fighter plane.
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a run on an item of manufacture beyond the quantity ordered by a customer and often offered at a discount.
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the amount by which the volume of a food, as butter or ice cream, is increased above the original volume by the inclusion of air, water, or another substance.
With only a 20 percent overrun, this is an excellent ice cream.
verb
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(tr) to attack or invade and defeat conclusively
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(tr) to swarm or spread over rapidly
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to run over (something); overflow
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to extend or run beyond a limit
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(intr) (of an engine) to run with a closed throttle at a speed dictated by that of the vehicle it drives, as on a decline
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(tr)
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to print (a book, journal, etc) in a greater quantity than ordered
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to print additional copies of (a publication)
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(tr) printing to transfer (set type and other matter) from one column, line, or page, to another
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archaic (tr) to run faster than
noun
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the act or an instance of overrunning
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the amount or extent of overrunning
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the number of copies of a publication in excess of the quantity ordered
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the cleared level area at the end of an airport runway
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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overrunsimple
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overrunssimple
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have overrunperfect
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has overrunperfect
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am overrunningprogressive
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are overrunningprogressive
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is overrunningprogressive
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have been overrunningperfect progressive
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has been overrunningperfect progressive
Past
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overransimple
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had overrunperfect
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was overrunningprogressive
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were overrunningprogressive
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had been overrunningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overrun
First recorded before 900; Middle English overrennen, Old English oferyrnan; see over-, run
Explanation
Overrun means being populated in huge numbers or occupied in some way. Your beautiful beach town may be peaceful in the winter but overrun by tourists every summer. You can use this verb for a successful invading army: "The troops managed to overrun the entire peninsula, reclaiming the land they'd lost." It's also good for other kinds of invasions and infestations: "They closed my dog's daycare because it was overrun by fleas." The earliest meaning, still used today, was "continue beyond a specified time," like the class that overruns by fifteen minutes, making you very late to third-period math.
Vocabulary lists containing overrun
Background on Pearl Harbor
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Unit 5, Week 5
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over (above, too much)
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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:
Fernandes could take risks in the belief United would not be overrun on transition if he lost the ball.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
And certainly social media, now overrun by bots, increasingly feels as if every conversation is between different viruses.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
Chilean ambassador Julio Cordano took over the role earlier this year after his predecessor resigned, and with the talks having overrun their initial schedule by more than a year.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
But for the signs in Albanian, we could have been on the Amalfi Coast, or the Côte d’Azur, except that it has not yet been overrun with bachelorettes and party buses.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Rome will be overrun, its legacy lost forever.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
While supportive of high-speed rail, Becerra is concerned by the project’s delays and cost overruns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
But several projects suffered delays, cost overruns or technical problems, Nicolas Munoz, an analyst at London-based consultancy CRU Group, noted.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
The project contractor now says Skylink won’t be running until January 2027 at the earliest, and cost overruns have driven up the price tag by 74%, to more than $3.3 billion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
The inspector general found that the Fed’s Board of Governors failed to take actions that would have mitigated significant cost overruns.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The previous year, he had assumed command of construction of the Pentagon, then beleaguered by labor problems, material shortages, cost overruns, and miserable work conditions.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
There is more to come from the approach and Iraola insisted "there has to be another level" after arriving late to Friday's news conference because training overran.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
DAUDZEVA, Latvia—Wearing strips of red tape on their helmets, Danish soldiers stealthily moved through the pine forest and then, unleashing a firestorm, overran a position held by Spanish troops.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Over 60 Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units are on scene of an incident involving a plane that overran a runway and struck multiple vehicles near Miami International Airport.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
The fire department said the plane overran a runway and hit multiple vehicles near the airport, where more than 60 firefighting units rushed to the scene.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
She was certain that if Cluny’s army overran Redwall, there would be enough treasure to keep even the greediest creature happy for life.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
The plane struck navigational aids and equipment after overrunning the runway, before hitting a white Ford van owned by a contract cleaning company.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Seve has let the detritus of life pile up around him — literally — with delivery packages and plastic-wrapped clothes overrunning his tiny Baltimore apartment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
Mr. Ellis takes as a case study the overrunning and removal of the Creek Indians in Georgia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
“I was on a couple hours ago with the Wildwood mayor, and he said we had a fantastic weekend, we happened to have this overrunning of, it sounds like, a bunch of teenagers.”
From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2024
One tiny mouse an invader overrunning the whole school all by himself?
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
