spillover

[ spil-oh-ver ]

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of spillover¹

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

Example Sentences

A large pool of viruses are circulating and we don’t become familiar with them until we see a spillover event and people getting ill.

From Nautilus

Each archived sample can be used to identify the wildlife sources of a disease, monitor changes in disease prevalence and distribution over time, and identify environmental variables that may lead to spillover into people.

From Popular-Science

As human populations expand into shrinking bat habitat, bats and humans increasingly cross paths, making viral spillover events and other harmful interactions more likely.

From Science News

To identify good targets for this intervention, epidemiologists may need more or better information about which animal diseases are on the rise, and which ones have the greatest potential for spillover to humans.

From Quanta Magazine

Whether a spillover explodes into a pandemic depends on many factors, including qualities of the virus itself and how humans respond to it.

From Science News

They identified the five different steps required for viral spillover from bats to humans.

From The Daily Beast

Other human practices, like the hunting and consumption of wild animals for food, provide other opportunities for spillover.

From The Daily Beast

Those who remain closed risk losing sales and the spillover traffic.

From The Daily Beast

Clearly, the well-being of one group has important spillover effects on others.

From The Daily Beast

For some time, inevitably, there has been some spillover effect from the Syrian war into Lebanon.

From The Daily Beast

The risk of a spillover of the conflict into Albanian territory is small.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• deluge
• flash flood
• overabundance
• torrent