overflow

¹over·flow

verb \ˌō-vər-ˈflō\

Definition of OVERFLOW

transitive verb

1

: to cover with or as if with water : inundate

2

: to flow over the brim of

3

: to cause to overflow

intransitive verb

1

: to flow over bounds

2

: to fill a space to capacity and spread beyond its limits <the crowd overflowed into the street>

Examples of OVERFLOW

1. The river overflowed its banks.
2. The creek overflows every spring.
3. The water in the tub overflowed.
4. Books and papers overflowed his desk.
5. The paragraph overflowed the page.

First Known Use of OVERFLOW

before 12th century

Related to OVERFLOW

Synonyms: overfill

Antonyms: drain

Related Words: boil over, run over, spill, well (up); flow, flush, gush, pour, sluice, spout, spurt, stream; deluge, drown, engulf, flood, inundate, overwhelm, submerge, submerse, swamp; wash (over); brim, cascade, slop, slosh

Near Antonyms: recede

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Rhymes with OVERFLOW

acid snow, afterglow, aikido, alpenglow, apropos, art deco, art nouveau, audio, Baguio, Bamako, barrio, bay window, Bergamo, bibelot, Bilbao, black widow, blow-by-blow, body blow, bone marrow, bordereau, Borneo, bow window, buffalo, Buffalo, bungalow, Bushido, buteo, calico, cameo, cachalot, cembalo, centimo, CEO, chassepot, cheerio, Clemenceau, cogito, comedo, comme il faut, counterflow, Cupid's bow, curaçao, Curaçao, curassow, curio, daimyo, danio, Delano, Diderot, do-si-do, domino, dynamo, embryo, entrepôt, Erato, escargot, Eskimo, extrados, fabliau, folio, French window, fricandeau, furbelow, gigolo, golden glow, go-no-go, grass widow, guacharo, hammer throw, hammertoe, haricot, heel-and-toe, hetero, high and low, HMO, Holy Joe, horror show, Idaho, in a row, indigo, in escrow, in the know, Jericho, kakapo, latigo, little toe, long-ago, Longfellow, Maceió, Maginot, Manchukuo, medico, Mexico, mistletoe, modulo, Monaco, Navajo, NCO, nuncio, oleo, olio, on tiptoe, Oreo, overgrow, overthrow, ovolo, Pamlico, Papago, paseo, picaro, piccolo, Pierrot, polio, pomelo, pompano, portico, PPO, Prospero, proximo, quid pro quo, radio, raree-show, ratio, Richard Roe, Rochambeau, rococo, rodeo, Romeo, rose window, round window, saddlebow, Sapporo, sapsago, Scapa Flow, Scipio, Scorpio, semipro, show window, sloppy joe, so-and-so, SRO, standing O, status quo, stereo, stop-and-go, studio, subito, tallyho, tangelo, Taranto, tic-tac-toe, TKO, to-and-fro, Tokyo, tombolo, touch-and-go, tournedos, tremolo, tuckahoe, tupelo, UFO, ultimo, undergo, undertow, Veneto, vertigo, vibrio, video, virago, vireo, Zhangjiakou, zydeco