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

to overrun

4 5.3
Go past a limit or planned time
  • verb
  • /ˌoʊvərˈrʌn/
translation icon : 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
255 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
201 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
201 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
45 4.4

To do something more than is needed

is like this but also describes literal crossing of physical limits
to overflow
vsto overrun
43 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
16 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 overreach
vsto overrun
15 6.2

To go beyond what you are allowed to do

covers going past limits broadly, not only abuses of power
to overstep
vsto overrun
11 5.9

To go beyond a limit or rule

relates to limits too but focuses more on physical or process boundaries
to step over the line
vsto overrun
  • Informal
10 5.0

Go beyond what people consider acceptable

includes such crossings but also covers nonmetaphorical overstepping of limits
to run over
vsto overrun
5 3.2

A liquid flows over the top of its container

is broader, applying to many kinds of boundaries beyond just containers
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
  • UK
3 6.2

To behave in a way people think is not acceptable

covers passing limits generally including physical or process boundaries
to overstretch
vsto overrun
1 5.5

To push someone or something beyond what they can manage

means going past limits too but not necessarily causing physical strain
to take too far
vsto overrun
1 5.3

To go beyond what is reasonable or acceptable

is similar but often used for physical movement or flow beyond boundaries
to overspill
vsto overrun
  • UK
1 4.9

To flow over the edge of a container or limit

is similar but the key also applies to vehicles and processes
to brim over
vsto overrun
3.6

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

covers overflow generally including movement and process exceedance

Antonyms

to limit
∞ 2.1

To control how much or how often something happens

Compounds

cost overrun
  • Specialized
7 5.1

The extra money a project spends compared with its planned budget

How Far

to flood
176 1.0
to overrun
4 5.3
to overshoot
6 4.6
to exceed
255 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.