verb , noun
■ verb / ˌəʊvəˈfləʊ; NAmE ˌoʊvərˈfloʊ/
1.
overflow (with sth) | overflow sth to be so full that the contents go over the sides :
[ v ]
Plates overflowed with party food.
The bath is overflowing
( figurative )
Her heart overflowed with love.
[ vn ]
The river overflowed its banks.
2.
[ v ] overflow (with sth) ( of a place ) to have too many people in it :
The streets were overflowing with the crowds.
The hospitals are filled to overflowing (= with patients) .
3.
overflow (into sth) to spread beyond the limits of a place or container that is too full :
[ v ]
The meeting overflowed into the street.
[also vn ]
■ noun / ˈəʊvəfləʊ; NAmE ˈoʊvərfloʊ/
1.
[ U , sing. ] a number of people or things that do not fit into the space available :
A new office block was built to accommodate the overflow of staff.
an overflow car park
2.
[ U , sing. ] the action of liquid flowing out of a container, etc. that is already full; the liquid that flows out :
an overflow of water from the lake
( figurative )
an overflow of powerful emotions
3.
(also ˈoverflow pipe ) [ C ] a pipe that allows extra liquid to escape
4.
[ C , usually sing. ] ( computing ) a fault that happens because a number or data item (for example, the result of a calculation) is too large for the computer to represent it exactly
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English oferflōwan (see over- , flow ).