spillover

[ spil-oh-ver ]

See synonyms for spillover on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act of spilling over.
a quantity of something spilled over; overflow.

Origin of spillover

First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase spill over

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use spillover in a sentence

A new paper outlines five steps required for a virus to ‘spill over’ from bats to humans.
Bats’ Link to Ebola Finally Solved | Carrie Arnold | November 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In vain, they hoped that bits of aid would spill over to them from the Olympic party.
Sochi’s Internal Refugees | Anna Nemtsova | February 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
With each passing day, South Sudan is sliding toward full-scale civil war, with major regional spill-over.
Second Chance At Building A State in South Sudan | John Prendergast | January 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He is ready for reform, so long as it does not spill over into politics.
The Person of 2013 Is… Xi Jinping | Jonathan Fenby | December 31, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
But the major political forces in Lebanon decided to try to quarantine the spill-over effect to that northern area.
Is Syria Being 'Lebanized' or is Lebanon Being 'Syrianized'? | Hussein Ibish | August 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

The sandy bed then becomes full from bank to bank, and the silt laden waters spill over into the cultivated lowlands beyond.
The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir | Sir James McCrone Douie
The finer part forms an inner cylindrical stratum, but is allowed to spill over the edge of the rim.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 613, October 1, 1887 | Various
Soon the pastures become filled with the feeding flocks, and then herdsmen and herds spill over into other fields.
Influences of Geographic Environment | Ellen Churchill Semple
Betty was very rosy and full of something that was bound to spill over at once.
Betty Gordon at Mountain Camp | Alice B. Emerson
The tears had been welling up behind her eyes so fast that she was afraid some of them would spill over.
Kildares of Storm | Eleanor Mercein Kelly

British Dictionary definitions for spill over

spill over

verb

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

nounspillover

mainly US and Canadian the act of spilling over
mainly US and Canadian the excess part of something

economics any indirect effect of public expenditure
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

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