overrun

verb, noun — 13 senses

overrun

verb

UK /ˌəʊ.vəˈɹʌn/ · US /ˌoʊ.vɚˈɹʌn/

Etymology From over- + run.

8 senses
  1. 1To defeat an enemy and invade in great numbers, seizing…
  2. 2To infest, swarm over, flow over.
  3. 3To run past; to run beyond.
  4. 4To run past the end of.
  5. 5To continue for too long.
  6. 6To carry (some type, a line or column, etc.) backward or…
  7. 7To go beyond; to extend in part beyond.
  8. 8To abuse or oppress, as if by treading upon.
1

To defeat an enemy and invade in great numbers, seizing the enemy positions conclusively.

  • But news that the North Vietnamese had launched an invasion more akin to the blitzkrieg of Poland than to a Maoist "people's war," and had overrun my old base camp 30 miles up Thunder Road from Saigon, turned my heart to lead.2000 April 26, Walter A. McDougall, “Who Were We in Vietnam?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 May 2015, retrieved 03 Aug 2008:
2

To infest, swarm over, flow over.

  • The vine overran its trellis; the field is overrun with weeds.
  • those barbarous nations that over-ran the world1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […] (Ancient Irish Histories), Dublin: […] Society of Stationers, […] Hibernia Press, […] [b]y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC:
1 more example
  • As President Obama turns his attention once again to filling out a cabinet and writing an Inaugural Address, this much is clear: he should not expect to bask in a surge of national unity, or to witness a crowd of millions overrun the Mall just to say they were there.2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 07 May 2021:
3

To run past; to run beyond.

  • The athlete overran the finish line and kept going.
  • One line overruns another in length.
2 more examples
  • Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Samuel 18:23:
  • The collision occurred when an up empty electric train travelling on the up main through line overran the inner home signal and rammed the side of the departing 6.14 p.m. Waterloo-Weymouth steam train, which was leaving platform 12 for the down main through line.1961 March, “Talking of trains”, in Trains Illustrated, page 138:
4

To run past the end of.

  • The aircraft didn't stop in time and overran the runway.
5

To continue for too long.

  • The performance overran by ten minutes, which caused some people to miss their bus home.
6

Media, Printing, Publishing To carry (some type, a line or column, etc.) backward or forward into an adjacent line or page.

7

To go beyond; to extend in part beyond.

  • In machinery, a sliding piece is said to overrun its bearing when its forward end goes beyond it.
  • all of these services, including mSpy, function with the same kind of predatory subscription scheme, luring you in with free trials that autorenew as abhorrently expensive monthly or yearly subscriptions. canceling the service requires reaching out to support, so users are typically unable to avoid overrunning the trial.2024 June 9, maia arson crimew, “israeli national police found trying to purchase stalkerware”, in maia blog, archived from the original on 23 Aug 2024:
8

To abuse or oppress, as if by treading upon.

  • None of them the feeble overren.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 9:
  • Fortunately, in April 1979, Congress codified the United States' support for the brave people of the Republic of China with the passage of the Taiwan Relations Act. This gave our friends the cover to develop the vibrant economy and flourishing democracy we see today and prevented them from being overrun by the same tyrants who are now in the process of eradicating democracy in Hong Kong.2005, Jesse Helms, “Jimmy Carter”, in Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir, New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 106–107:
Derived terms
overrunner, overrun the constable

overrun

noun

UK /ˈəʊ.vəˌɹʌn/ · US /ˈoʊ.vɚˌɹʌn/

Etymology From over- + run.

1

An instance of overrunning.

  • Some of the stadiums being built for the World Cup soccer tournament, scheduled for next year, have also been criticized for delays and cost overruns, and have become subjects of derision as protesters question whether they will become white elephants.2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 11 Aug 2020:
  • Tesla’s first decade was plagued by unmet deadlines, technical snafus and cost overruns.2021 December 13, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in TIME, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2021:
2

Media, Printing, Publishing A turnover: a break to a new line by text flowing within the column.

3

The amount by which something overruns.

  • At least this year's overrun isn't as unmanageable as last year!
4

Aeronautics, Aerospace, Aviation, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences An area of terrain beyond the end of a runway that is kept flat and unobstructed to allow an aircraft that runs off the end of the runway to stop safely.

  • The runway has 7,000 feet of paved surface, plus a 2,000-foot grass overrun.
5

Food, Lifestyle Air that is whipped into a frozen dessert to make it easier to serve and eat.

  • If ice cream has too much overrun, it will be airy and foamy and will lack flavor.2004, Wayne Gisslen, Professional Baking, page 497:
Derived terms
buffer overrun, cost overrun

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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