overflow
Americanverb (used without object)
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overflows,
present (3rd person singular)
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overflowed,
past participle, past
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overflown,
past participle
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overflowing
present participle
-
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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overflows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overflowed,
past participle, past
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overflown,
past participle
-
overflowing
present participle
-
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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overflows
plural
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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
-
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
-
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:
At one point, the video feed in the overflow room was shut down after someone violated the court rules and snapped pictures of a cooperating witness testifying that later circulated on social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
But the DA cautioned that adequate security was needed to prevent spectators from covertly recording the trial from an overflow room in violation of New York law.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
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
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
A row of lidless, doorless toilets stretched along one wall in the pool of their overflow.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
“All Eyez on Me,” the double album Shakur released in 1996, overflows with groovy bass samples that display his reverence for 1970s and 1980s R&B—Kool & the Gang, Bootsy Collins, Cameo and more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The company said it was investing £889m on storm overflows between 2025 and 2030, including six projects to reduce their impact on the Tywi.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
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
Auntie Idris is far up on one, waving down at us from a balcony that overflows with leafy plants and bright red flowers.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
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
Plates overflowed with fried eggs, hash browns and bacon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2026
Water gathered in low-lying valleys and river channels, overflowed crater rims, and rushed through canyons.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 31, 2025
When she plopped it in the cup, the tea overflowed into the saucer.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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
Frightened was the way he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overflown the community twice.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
A garden hose had been overflowing the pool above the hillside for an “unknown amount of time” when it caused the flooding and subsequent collapse, according to the Fire Department’s 5 p.m. update.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
But the real magic of contemporary Lisdoonvarna lies in the town's overflowing streets and pubs - as Timby soon found out.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Thanks to the boom in online fitness and beauty culture, our feeds are constantly overflowing with good-looking people who are just too boring to be hot.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
With mortuaries overflowing, Nepal has buried hundreds of bodies in mass graves, after taking DNA samples for future identification, according to the police.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Then I came back in and handed her the overflowing container, sat down at the table, and put my head in my hands.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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.
