Overflow

Pronunciation: /oʊvərˈfloʊ/

Definitions of overflow

noun excessive amount of something

Example Sentences

A1 The bathtub started to overflow with water.

A2 The sink overflowed with bubbles from the dish soap.

B1 The river overflowed its banks after heavy rainfall.

B2 The data overflow in the system caused a crash.

C1 The overflow of customers in the store led to long wait times.

C2 The overflow of emotions at the funeral was palpable.

verb to fill or spread over to the point of overflowing

Example Sentences

A1 The sink overflowed with water.

A2 The river overflowed its banks after heavy rain.

B1 The crowd overflowed into the streets during the parade.

B2 The emotions overflowed as they shared their deepest feelings.

C1 Her love for him overflowed in every word she spoke.

C2 The artist's creativity overflowed onto the canvas, creating a masterpiece.

Examples of overflow in a Sentence

formal The heavy rainfall caused the river to overflow its banks.

informal The sink is clogged and now it's starting to overflow.

slang I can't believe the amount of food at the buffet, it's gonna make me overflow!

figurative Her emotions were so overwhelming that they seemed to overflow from her eyes.

Grammatical Forms of overflow

• past tense: overflowed
• plural: overflows
• comparative: more overflowing
• superlative: most overflowing
• present tense: overflows
• future tense: will overflow
• perfect tense: have overflowed
• continuous tense: is overflowing
• singular: overflow
• positive degree: overflow
• infinitive: to overflow
• gerund: overflowing
• participle: overflowed

Origin and Evolution of overflow

First Known Use: 1250 year

Language of Origin: Old English

Story behind the word: The word 'overflow' originated from the Old English word 'oflōwan' which means 'to flow over'.

Evolution of the word: Over time, the word 'overflow' has retained its original meaning of 'to flow over' but has also come to be used in a metaphorical sense to describe an abundance or excess of something.