Overflow

How to spell overflow

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce overflow

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does overflow mean?

1. verbTo flow over the top or edge of a container or boundary because it is too full.
2. nounThe surplus that escapes when something is too full, or an outlet that carries it away.

Overflow in a sentence

• verb

  If you keep pouring, the bucket will overflow.

• noun

  The sink has a small overflow near the top to stop flooding.

• verb

  Heavy rain can make the river overflow onto the fields.

• noun

  The conference booked a second room to handle the overflow of guests.

Where does overflow come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound, built from the Old English elements 'ofer', meaning 'over' or 'above', and 'flowan', meaning 'to flow' or 'to stream'. The verb 'oferflowan' was already in use in Old English to describe water rising past its boundary, and it has kept that literal sense for well over a thousand years. Both halves are firmly Germanic: 'over' has cousins in the Dutch 'over' and German 'ueber', while 'flow' is related to the same root that gives us 'flood'. The noun sense, meaning the surplus that escapes or a pipe that carries it away, developed later from the verb. Because the word is a clean join of two familiar pieces, the spelling is transparent, with no hidden letters or silent traps.

How the word is built

• over- (above, beyond)
• flow (to move as a liquid)