#initial-load-header-loader { visibility: hidden!important; } #initial-load-content { visibility: visible!important; } .expandable .expandable-control { display: none!important; } .expandable .expandable-content { display: block!important; visibility: visible!important; max-height: none!important; height: auto!important; }

overflow

[verb oh-ver-floh; noun oh-ver-floh]

||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR overflow ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), o·ver·flowed, o·ver·flown, o·ver·flow·ing.

to flow or run over, as rivers or water: After the thaw, the river overflows and causes great damage.

to have the contents flowing over or spilling, as an overfull container: Stop pouring or your glass is going to overflow.

to pass from one place or part to another as if flowing from an overfull space: The population overflowed into the adjoining territory.

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), o·ver·flowed, o·ver·flown, o·ver·flow·ing.

to flow over; flood; inundate: The river overflowed several farms.

to flow over or beyond (the brim, banks, borders, etc.).

to cause to overflow.

to flow over the edge or brim of (a receptacle, container, etc.).

to fill to the point of running over.

noun

an overflowing: the annual overflow of the Nile.

something that flows or runs over: to carry off the overflow from a fountain.

a portion crowded out of an overfilled place: to house the overflow of the museum's collection in another building.

an excess or superabundance: an overflow of applicants for the job.

an outlet or receptacle for excess liquid: The tank is equipped with an overflow.

Origin of overflow

before 900; Middle English overflowen, Old English oferflōwan. See over-, flow

Related formso·ver·flow·a·ble, adjectiveo·ver·flow·ing·ly, adverbun·o·ver·flow·ing, adjective

Synonyms for overflow

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR overflow ON THESAURUS.COM

13. overabundance, surplus, plethora, flood, glut.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for overflow

overabundance, torrent, deluge, drain, inundate, brim, spill, leak, drown, pour, swamp, cascade, gush, submerge, soak, overrun, engulf, surplus, plethora, encroachment

Examples from the Web for overflow

Contemporary Examples of overflow

Pope Francis urged the local parish to open up a closed monastery on the island to house the overflow.
Italian Shipwreck Survivors to be Prosecuted and Fined
Barbie Latza Nadeau
October 7, 2013
“Barack Obama believes America is in need of great change,” Santorum said to the overflow crowd of 2,500.
Rick Santorum Goes After Obama in Feisty Georgia Speech
Patricia Murphy
February 20, 2012
The overflow crowds were thinning out—and he was becoming less of a novelty.
Santorum’s New Hampshire Expectations Plummet as Iowa Glow Wears Off
Lois Romano
January 10, 2012
An hour to the north, at the rural Tilton School, Mitt Romney faced his own overflow crowd beneath quietly humming ceiling fans.
Mitt Romney Soars, Rick Santorum Struggles as They Battle in the New Hampshire Primary
Howard Kurtz
January 7, 2012
An overflow room was required so that late-comers could watch the putative frontrunner on a large-screen television.
Newt Gingrich Shape-Shifts Through New Hampshire
Lloyd Grove
December 16, 2011

Historical Examples of overflow

Whenever he was fresh and full of spirits, he had enough to overflow upon her and every one.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
There was also an outlet to the street to carry off the overflow.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae
Jennie Hall
He was ladling the pobs into the child's mouth, and scooping the overflow from her chin.
The Manxman
Hall Caine
Further, on this day year, the city will overflow once more with wealth and beauty.
Cyropaedia
Xenophon
He was feeding himself ferociously and seemed to overflow with bitterness.
Falk
Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for overflow

overflow

verb (ˌəʊvəˈfləʊ) -flows or -flowing or -flowed or formerly -flown

to flow or run over (a limit, brim, bank, etc)

to fill or be filled beyond capacity so as to spill or run over

(intr usually foll by with) to be filled with happiness, tears, etc

(tr) to spread or cover over; flood or inundate

noun (ˈəʊvəˌfləʊ)

overflowing matter, esp liquid

any outlet that enables surplus liquid to be discharged or drained off, esp one just below the top of a tank or cistern

the amount by which a limit, capacity, etc, is exceeded

computing a condition that occurs when numeric operations produce results too large to store in the memory space assigned to it

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

Word Origin and History for overflow

v.

Old English oferfleow "to flow across, flood, inundate," also "to flow over (a brim or bank);" see over- + flow (v.). Related: Overflowed; overflowing.

n.

1580s, "act of overflowing," from overflow (v.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper