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Glite Dictionary
to overflowing

to overflowing

3 4.2
So full that nothing more can fit
  • idiom
translation icon : hasta rebosar
  • The basket was filled to overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables from the market.
  • filled to overflowing

Store shelves are going to be going from bare to overflowing and it's going to force price cuts.

Examples

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

    Academic text (1992)

  • Clouds roiled and tumbled overhead, filling the skies to overflowing.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The house was full to overflowing with people.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Your flight might be mostly empty, or it might be packed to overflowing.

    Blog text (13)

  • The courtroom is going to be packed to overflowing.

    Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer (2018)

  • The woman walked slowly, for the basket was filled almost to overflowing.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The ashtray was full to overflowing.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The corncrib was full to overflowing.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The hold of the longboat was filled to overflowing.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • p114 St. Anne's was filled to overflowing for Evie's funeral.

    Fiction book (1995)

Synonyms

full of
vsto overflowing
∞ 1.0

Containing a lot of something, like tears or facts

specifies being beyond capacity rather than merely abundant
to flooded with
vsto overflowing
27 3.5

To get more things than you can handle

describes physical overcapacity rather than being metaphorically swamped
to overflowing with
vsto overflowing
15 2.9

Full of a lot of something, often too much

stresses excess quantity rather than just reaching capacity
to the brim
vsto overflowing
12 3.4

Filled to the top edge

describes going past capacity rather than just reaching the edge
overfull
vsto overflowing
1 5.5

Contains more goods than people want to buy

is the stronger way to say it goes past capacity rather than simply occupied
brimful
vsto overflowing
1 5.2

So full that it almost overflows

implies being over capacity rather than only up to the rim
brimful of
vsto overflowing
1 3.8

Full to the top with something, often a feeling

focuses on being beyond capacity generally not only with one thing
overflowing
vsto overflowing
3.1

So full that water spills out and covers the area around it

is beyond capacity without necessarily causing spillage
filled
vsto overflowing
1.0

Full of something that takes up most of it

is the common expression for being beyond capacity rather than partial
chockful
vsto overflowing
6.3

Full so there is no room left

implies exceeding capacity rather than only tight packing
full to the gills
vsto overflowing
  • Informal
6.6

Very full after a large meal or in a crowded place

is the neutral expression for being beyond capacity without slang

Antonyms

to empty
179 1.0

To remove everything from a container or place

How Full

to overflowing
3 4.2
brimming
3.4
full
853 1.0
fullish
4.7
empty
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

to overflowing positive

Morphology

to + overflowing

The meaning is directly compositional: 'overflowing' means filled beyond capacity and 'to' here marks the extent or limit (up to that point), so a learner who knows both words can infer 'so full that nothing more can be contained.' This degree-marking pattern is common in English and across languages (e.g., 'to the brim', 'hasta desbordar'), making the phrase immediately understandable to B1 learners.

Etymology

To overflowing comes from the image of a cup or box so full that things spill over the top, and the word overflowing gives that clear picture. So, it now means 'so full that nothing more can be contained'.