Wiktionary

overrun

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *úp
Proto-Indo-European *-er
Proto-Indo-European *upér
Proto-Germanic *uber
Old English ofer-
Middle English over-
English over-
English run
English overrun

    From over- + run.

    Pronunciation

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    Verb

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    overrun (third-person singular simple present overruns, present participle overrunning, simple past overran, past participle overrun)

    1. (transitive) To defeat an enemy and invade in great numbers, seizing the enemy positions conclusively.
      • 2000 April 26, Walter A. McDougall, “Who Were We in Vietnam?”, in The New York Times‎[1], archived from the original on 27 May 2015, retrieved 3 Aug. 2008:
        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.
    2. (transitive) To infest, swarm over, flow over.
      Coordinate term: run over (intransitive)
      The vine overran its trellis; the field is overrun with weeds.
      • 1596 (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:
        those barbarous nations that over-ran the world
      • 2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in The New York Times‎[2], archived from the original on 7 May 2021:
        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.
    3. (transitive) To run past; to run beyond.
      Coordinate term: run over (intransitive)
      The athlete overran the finish line and kept going.
      One line overruns another in length.
      • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Samuel 18:23:
        Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.
      • 1961 March, “Talking of trains”, in Trains Illustrated, page 138:
        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.
      1. (transitive) To run past the end of.
        Coordinate term: run over (intransitive)
        The aircraft didn't stop in time and overran the runway.
    4. (intransitive) To continue for too long.
      Synonym: run over (intransitive)
      The performance overran by ten minutes, which caused some people to miss their bus home.
    5. (printing, transitive) To carry (some type, a line or column, etc.) backward or forward into an adjacent line or page.
      Synonym: run over (transitive)
    6. (transitive) 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.
      • 2024 June 9, maia arson crimew, “israeli national police found trying to purchase stalkerware”, in maia blog‎[3], archived from the original on 23 August 2024:
        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.
    7. (transitive) To abuse or oppress, as if by treading upon.
      Synonym: run over (transitive)
      • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 9:
        None of them the feeble overren.
      • 2005, Jesse Helms, “Jimmy Carter”, in Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir‎[4], New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 106–107:
        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.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Noun

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    overrun (countable and uncountable, plural overruns)

    1. An instance of overrunning.
      • 2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in The New York Times‎[5], archived from the original on 11 August 2020:
        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.
      • 2021 December 13, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in TIME‎[6], archived from the original on 13 December 2021:
        Tesla’s first decade was plagued by unmet deadlines, technical snafus and cost overruns.
      1. (printing) A turnover: a break to a new line by text flowing within the column.
        Synonym: runover
    2. The amount by which something overruns.
      At least this year's overrun isn't as unmanageable as last year!
    3. (aviation) 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.
      Synonyms: runway safety area, stopway
      The runway has 7,000 feet of paved surface, plus a 2,000-foot grass overrun.
    4. (food) Air that is whipped into a frozen dessert to make it easier to serve and eat.
      • 2004, Wayne Gisslen, Professional Baking, page 497:
        If ice cream has too much overrun, it will be airy and foamy and will lack flavor.

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Anagrams

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