overflow
verb/ˌəʊvəˈfləʊ/ · /ˌoʊvɚˈfloʊ/
Etymology From Middle English overflowen, from Old English oferflōwan, equivalent to over- + flow.
7 senses
- 1To flow over the brim of (a container).
- 2To cover with a liquid, literally or figuratively.
- 3To cause an overflow.
- 4To flow over the brim of a container.
- 5To be subject to a load that exceeds limits or capacity.
- 6To have something in superabundance; to abound in something.
- 7To (cause to) exceed the available numeric range.
1
To flow over the brim of (a container).
- The river overflowed the levee into the road.
- Theſe are they that went ouer Ioꝛden in the firſt moneth, when it had ouerflowen all his* bankes, and they put to flight all them of the valleis, both toward the Eaſt, and toward the Weſt.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Chronicles 12:15:
2 more examples
- Locally heavy rains on the 21st caused more than 2 feet of overflow on Salt Creek at Ashland, Nebr., on the 22d. Some county roads were inundated. Mill Creek which flows into the Platte River at Louisville, Nebr., overflowed its banks from the heavy rain.1965 January 1, “General Summary of River and Flood Conditions-Continued”, in Climatological Data: National Summary, volume 16, number 1, Asheville, NC: United States Weather Bureau, page 265:
- The shadows had begun to overflow Their stagnant puddles on the nightward side, When presently the roar of battle died2018, John G. Neihardt, A Cycle of the West, page 461:
2
To cover with a liquid, literally or figuratively.
- The flash flood overflowed most of the parkland and some homes.
- So when they were working that evening at the pumps, there was on this head no small gamesomeness slily going on among them, as they stood with their feet continually overflowed by the rippling clear water […]1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
3
To cause an overflow.
4
To flow over the brim of a container.
- The waters overflowed into the Ninth Ward.
5
To be subject to a load that exceeds limits or capacity.
- The hospital ER was overflowing with flu cases.
6
Figuratively To have something in superabundance; to abound in something.
- I see and feel that I want the first requisite — a heart overflowing with Divine love towards sinners1857, Eustace Rogers Conder, Josiah Conder: A Memoir:
7
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Ambitransitive To (cause to) exceed the available numeric range.
- Calculating 255+1 will overflow an eight-bit byte.
- Some programs, especially online games, tend to have coding problems that leave them with memory holes - in other words, they don't delete information from your PC's memory once they're finished with it, they just keep adding and adding until everything overflows. Eventually, this can cause the game to crash to desktop, but adding more memory can help prevent this.2008, Adam Oxford, Windows Vista - Autumn 2008, Future US, →ISSN, page 67:
- Derived terms
- buffer overflow, full to overflowing, overflowable, overflower, underflow