Definition

1. Noun:

   • The action or fact of flowing over the edge or limit of a container, space, or capacity: It refers to the event where liquid or contents exceed their confines.
   • The excess liquid or material that has flowed over: It can also refer to the surplus liquid itself.
   • An outlet or pipe for excess liquid: In technical contexts, it can mean a structure designed to carry away surplus fluid.

2. Verb:

   • To flow over the brim or edge of a container: The primary meaning is for a liquid to exceed its limits.
   • To be filled or supplied with something beyond capacity: Used figuratively to describe an abundance of emotions, people, or things.
   • To extend beyond the boundaries or limits of something: Can refer to spaces, events, or abstract concepts.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The heavy rain caused an overflow from the city's drainage system.
  • We placed a bucket under the sink to catch the overflow.
  • The concert was so popular they set up an overflow room for the extra attendees.

• Verb:

  • The river will overflow its banks during the spring thaw.
  • Her heart overflowed with gratitude when she received the award.
  • The crowd overflowed the small auditorium and filled the hallway.

Advanced Usage

• "to overflow with": to be so full of a particular emotion or quality that it is very apparent.
  • His speech overflowed with patriotic sentiment.
• "overflow crowd/audience": a number of people greater than the capacity of the main venue.
  • The overflow crowd watched the ceremony on screens outside.
• In computing: Refers to a condition where a calculation produces a result too large for the allocated storage.
  • The program crashed due to an integer overflow.

Variants and Related Words

• Overflowing (adj, present participle): Filled beyond capacity; abundant.
  • The overflowing bins needed to be emptied.
• Overflow pipe (n): A pipe that carries away excess liquid to prevent flooding.
  • The tank is fitted with an overflow pipe for safety.

Synonyms

• Noun: Surplus, excess, flood, deluge, spillover.
• Verb: Spill over, flood, brim over, run over, well over.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Overflow into: To spread into an adjacent area because the original space is full.
  • The protest overflowed into the neighboring streets.
• Bubble over with: To be so full of an emotion (like joy or anger) that it is expressed energetically. (Note: This is a related idiom using "over" but is not a phrasal verb of "overflow" itself).
  • She was bubbling over with excitement about her trip.

Related Idioms

• A cup that overflows / My cup overflows: An expression, often from a biblical context, meaning to have an abundance of blessings or good fortune.
  • With my family's love and support, my cup truly overflows.
• To be filled to overflowing: To be completely full, often implying an emotional state.
  • The stadium was filled to overflowing with cheering fans.

Noun

1. the occurrence of surplus liquid (as water) exceeding the limit or capacity
2. a large flow

Verb

1. overflow with a certain feeling
   • The children bubbled over with joy
   • My boss was bubbling over with anger
2. flow or run over (a limit or brim)