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Glite Dictionary
💧 To spill over 😊 To be full of 🌊 A spill 💻 Content outside box
to overflow

to overflow

43 2.9
To flow over the edge when a container or space is too full
  • verb
  • /ˌoʊvərˈfloʊ/
translation icon : desbordar
  • After heavy rains, the river began to overflow, causing nearby fields to flood.
  • the river overflowed
  • overflow into the streets
  • filled to overflowing

So the hospitals will be overflowed, the first responders being the police that will be completely taxed.

Examples

  • In normal mornings, the narrow streets of Old Jerusalem overflow with people forming a peculiar kind of mass movement.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Meanwhile, Mustang Studio was bursting at the seams, overflowing into other areas.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Hurry, it's going to overflow.

    Body Snatchers (1993)

  • Soon, the tabletop overflowed with food and the last of their sweet wine.

  • Perhaps a violent monsoon had caused the river to overflow its banks and flood the cave.

    Academic text (1991)

  • One secretary sat at a huge desk overflowing with papers and three telephones ringing off the hook.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Rainwater could cause the waste to overflow and spill into a nearby stormwater drain or onto the ground.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The toilet's overflowing!

    C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (1989)

  • By mid-summer 1692, the jails of Massachusetts were filled to overflowing with accused witches.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The resulting environmental health hazards are worsened when overflowing drains are contaminated with fecal matter.

    Academic text (2005)

Synonyms

to flood
vsto overflow
127 2.1

To fill a place with more things than it can handle

is narrower, referring to liquid passing a container rim because it is too full
to spill over
vsto overflow
16 4.2

To move beyond the edge of a container or place

is narrower, mainly about liquid in a container
to run over
vsto overflow
5 3.2

A liquid flows over the top of its container

is the common single word term used for that same action
to overrun
vsto overflow
4 5.3

Go past a limit or planned time

focuses specifically on liquid going past a rim due to excess volume
to overfill
vsto overflow
3 3.9

To put too much into something so it spills out

describes the result of too much content rather than the surface flow
to overtop
vsto overflow
1 4.8

To flow over the top of something like a wall or river bank

is used for going past an object's rim because of fullness
to overspill
vsto overflow
  • UK
1 4.9

To flow over the edge of a container or limit

is the standard term focusing on the action of going past the rim
to brim over
vsto overflow
3.6

To flow over the edge when a container or feeling is too full

applies more widely beyond feelings and liquids
to overwash
vsto overflow
  • Specialized
6.4

To flow over land or a barrier, covering it with water

is broader, not limited to sea or wave actions

Antonyms

to contain
∞ 1.1

To have something inside like a box or book

Compounds

overflow incontinence
  • Specialized
7.4

The bladder becomes too full and slowly leaks urine because it cannot empty

How Much

to flood
176 1.0
to overflow
43 2.9
to spill
347 1.0
to leak
212 1.0
drip
44 1.0

Surface Forms

overflow infinitive
overflowed past
overflowed past participle
overflowing present participle
overflows third person singular

Morphology

overflow = flow (transparent) = over + flow

Clear, regular prefixation of 'over' onto the verb 'flow' producing the literal meaning of running or spilling beyond limits.

Etymology

Overflow comes from old English parts over 'above' and flow 'to move like water'. So when a container is too full, liquid 'flows over' the edge, which is why overflow means to run or pour over the rim.