1
as in flood
a great flow of water or of something that overwhelms
a great overflow of water from the heavy rains swept mud and silt down onto the highway
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in surplus
the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed
an overflow of help actually made the job more complicated
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to flood
to flow over the brim or top of
while the wine steward stood there gawking at the nearby celebrity, my expensive champagne was overflowing its glass and pouring onto our table
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to engulf
to cover with a flood
the swollen river overflowed the surrounding land and washed several houses away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overflow
Jonathan M. Pitts, Baltimore Sun, 22 Jan. 2025
The overflow room was a who’s who of politicians and personalities: New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat; YouTube stars like brothers Jake and Logan Paul, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and podcaster and comedian Theo Von, who interviewed Vice President JD Vance ahead of the election.
—Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 21 Jan. 2025
Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025
This week is overflowing with them, and some teams near the top of their league title races need wins in order to keep up.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 14 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for overflow 
Noun
Should those sites fill up, overflow housing is available to single adults at the Robert C. Marshall Recreation Center at 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., and to families at the former Lois T. Murray Special Education School at 1600 E. Arlington Ave., Randolph said.
—Jonathan M. Pitts, Baltimore Sun, 22 Jan. 2025
The overflow room was a who’s who of politicians and personalities: New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat; YouTube stars like brothers Jake and Logan Paul, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and podcaster and comedian Theo Von, who interviewed Vice President JD Vance ahead of the election.
—Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 21 Jan. 2025
Verb
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there are at least 23,000 to 75,000 sanitary sewer overflows in U.S. every year.
—Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025
This week is overflowing with them, and some teams near the top of their league title races need wins in order to keep up.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 14 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for overflow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overflow
Noun
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For example, the agency would ensure water and sewer systems could handle bigger floods, or would plan to inoculate against diseases that might spread faster in warm weather.—
Jake Bittle,
WIRED,
8 Feb. 2025
-
Every minute, two garbage trucks' worth of plastic flood [enter] into the oceans.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Stack, an avid fisherman, worked at an U.S. Army surplus store before opening his own business with $300 from his grandmother, the website said.—
Marcus D. Smith,
Sacramento Bee,
31 Jan. 2025
-
Taken together, the changes would close Social Security’s funding gap and result in a minor 1% surplus, according to NIRS’ Bond.—
Lorie Konish,
CNBC,
29 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The war has spilled over into the wider region, putting Israel in conflict with key Hamas backer Iran, as well as Tehran proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.—
Sophie Tanno and Mick Krever,
CNN,
8 Feb. 2025
-
Later that evening, the group announced that the water surface level was above that and was spilling over into the Glory Hole.—
Brooke Baitinger,
Sacramento Bee,
7 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Friday’s development is just the latest twist in a complicated, layered, yearslong corruption scandal that has engulfed Alameda County, its county seat, Oakland, and led to the ousting of its mayor and a district attorney.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
7 Feb. 2025
-
In the weeks following the outbreak of the Eaton and Palisades Fires, the conflagrations engulfed neighborhoods, forested canyons and chaparral—a type of shrubland.—
Anton Sorokin,
Smithsonian Magazine,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
VanZant burst onto the scene in the UFC and won her first three fights in the Octagon before losing out to Rose Namajunas via fifth-round submission in a gutsy, but one-sided, defeat in December 2015.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
7 Feb. 2025
-
Over time, the blisters burst, ooze, and scab over.—
Brittany Risher,
SELF,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Instead, Trump spent most of his 40 minutes speaking to roughly 1,000 supporters in a casino ballroom lauding his win in November, mocking former President Biden’s administration and touting his torrent of executive actions since taking office.—
Will Weissert and Thomas Beaumont,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2025
-
Simply flooding the zone with the world’s best AI chips without establishing guardrails against diversion and misuse by U.S. adversaries risks unleashing a torrent of those chips—and the remote high-performance compute capacity enabled by them—flowing back to China.—
Colin H. Kahl,
Foreign Affairs,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The cost of repairs is expected to be in the thousands, with Kos having to pay a $990 insurance excess until the other driver is identified by police.—
Barbara A. Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Jan. 2025
-
Line an 8-inch square metal baking pan with parchment paper, allowing excess to hang over the edge.—
Ann Taylor Pittman,
Southern Living,
27 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
In this new age of college basketball, with the transfer portal overfilled every year and Name, Image and Likeness money putting so much flexibility into the players’ hands, Rice knows the game is changing.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
28 Jan. 2025
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Keep in Mind Planters overfill easily in heavy rain and there’s not an easy way to drain excess water.—
Rachel Ahrnsen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
3 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near overflow
Cite this Entry
“Overflow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overflow. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.
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