⚔️ To take by force 🌱 To spread wildly 📦 Extra amount 🚧 To go past

to overrun

2 5.3

Go past a limit or planned time

verb
/ˌoʊvərˈrʌn/

: sobrepasar

After a heavy storm, the nearby river swells and overruns its banks, flooding the local graveyard until it sometimes floats a coffin downstream.
overrun its banks
let wastewater overrun

So, you know, that's why all these government projects are so overrun.

Examples

Due to the miscalculation, the fuel quantity began to overrun the tank limit during the refueling process.
The heavy rain caused the river to overrun its banks, spilling water into the nearby streets.
I'll overrun my engines to give us a few more seconds.

Thunderbirds Are GO (1966)
The rising water of the Seine has overrun its banks... flooding out thousands of homes in the low-lying areas.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
The crowd was so large that it started to overrun the designated area, leaving little room for movement.

Synonyms

to exceed

vsto overrun

269 4.1

To be greater than a set amount or beyond what people expect

is like this but often refers to physical or process boundaries

to go beyond

vsto overrun

266 3.6

To exceed a limit or what people expect

is similar but highlights physical examples like vehicles processes or liquids

to go too far

vsto overrun

242 4.2

Say or do something that is not acceptable and may hurt people

is broader and also applies to physical processes and liquids

to go overboard

vsto overrun

Informal

55 4.4

To do something more than is needed

is like this but also describes literal crossing of physical limits

to overstep

vsto overrun

43 5.9

To go beyond a limit or rule

relates to limits too but focuses more on physical or process boundaries

to take too far

vsto overrun

35 5.3

To go beyond what is reasonable or acceptable

is similar but often used for physical movement or flow beyond boundaries

to overflow

vsto overrun

27 2.9

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

is broader and covers more than just liquid spilling over

to spill over

vsto overrun

27 4.2

To move beyond the edge of a container or place

matches physical overflow but the key also covers vehicles and processes broadly

to step over the line

vsto overrun

Informal

13 5.0

Go beyond what people consider acceptable

includes such crossings but also covers nonmetaphorical overstepping of limits

to overstretch

vsto overrun

4 5.5

To push someone or something beyond what they can manage

means going past limits too but not necessarily causing physical strain

to overreach

vsto overrun

4 6.2

To go beyond what you are allowed to do

covers going past limits broadly, not only abuses of power

to overfill

vsto overrun

3 3.9

To put too much into something so it spills out

expresses going past limits but the key also highlights movement beyond boundaries

to overstep the mark

vsto overrun

2 6.2

To behave in a way people think is not acceptable

covers passing limits generally including physical or process boundaries

to run over

vsto overrun

2 3.2

A liquid flows over the top of its container

is broader, applying to many kinds of boundaries beyond just containers

to brim over

vsto overrun

1 3.6

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

covers overflow generally including movement and process exceedance

to overspill

vsto overrun

1 4.9

To flow over the edge of a container or limit

is similar but the key also applies to vehicles and processes

Antonyms

to limit

465 2.1

To control how much or how often something happens

Compounds

cost overrun

Specialized

8 5.1

The extra money a project spends compared with its planned budget

How Far

to flood

156 1.0

to overrun

2 5.3

to overshoot

15 4.6

to exceed

269 4.1

Surface Forms

overrun infinitive

overrunning present participle

overruns third person singular

overran past

overrun past participle

Morphology

overrun = run (transparent) = over + run

The verb sense is formed by the productive prefix 'over-' added to the verb 'run', yielding a meaning of going beyond or passing a limit that learners can infer.

Etymology

The word overrun comes from the parts over- (meaning 'beyond') and run ('to move quickly' or 'go past'), so picture someone running past a finish line. That's why to overrun a limit is to go past it or exceed it.