overflow
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Flow or run over.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ohverflohSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈoʊvɚfloʊ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Flow or run over (a limit or brim)
transitive
To flow over the brim of (a container).
intransitive
To be subject to a load that exceeds limits or capacity. [with with]
intransitivefiguratively
To have something in superabundance; to abound in something.
transitive
To cover with a liquid, literally or figuratively.
Overflow with a certain feeling
noun
Excess, superabundance
An outlet for escape of excess material.
The spillage resultant from overflowing.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Flow or run over (a limit or brim)
Used this way, overflow is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- brim over , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use overflow
- “The bathtub will overflow if you do not turn off the water.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Urinary incontinence that occurs when the bladder is so full that it continually leaks urine.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.