Word.ws English Dictionary

overflush

overflush noun: surplus assets.

Noun

overflush (plural overflushes)

  1. Surplus assets.
    • In his judgment in this case, the vice Chancellor Wigram refers to my decision in Woods v. Woods, in which I held, that under a gift of "all overflush to my wife towards her support and her family," the widow took the property subject to a trust for the family.1848, The Law Journal Reports, page 233
    • Every day there is an overflush that would be wasted but for the blessed tin can or the glass jar.1906, The Independent - Volume 60, page 1366
  2. An excess of something.
    • Lady Albinia was allowed by all who knew her, to be one of the most admirable correctives to an overflush of youth .1854 October, “Wild and Tame”, in Kentucky Garland, volume 1, number 1, page 42
    • Of life and life's significant loveliness, Be reconcilement for the easy loss Of tendril graces that climb about the heart, And smother it with overflush of bloom.1875, Cyclopædia of American Literature, page 913
  3. A flush or tinge of color that appears over the base color.
    • If the bright ground be moved to and fro, this overflush of color may be, sometimes beautifully, shown, following the line or edge of the moving mass of strong color; and most distinct near the edge.1876 April 21, Henry Hartshorne, “On Some Disputed Points in Physiological Optics”, in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, page 224
    • Sepals: Pale brown largely covered with maroon overflush.1959, G. C. K. Dunsterville, Leslie A. Garay, Venezuelan Orchids Illustrated, page 68
  4. A sudden rush of feeling that appears expressed in the face.
    • While an overflush of marvellous grace Would master, a-sudden, all his face, Till the delicate nostril curved and swelled, and the glance an eloquent sparkle held, And a sense of song would come and go, Such as dreamers watched by Ariel know.1873 November, Margaret J. Preston, “Alpenglow”, in Scribner's Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine for the People, volume 7, number 1, page 63
  5. A flush (series of obstacles to ski between) that covers a slope
    • There was an overflush and I tried to run straight into it. Most racers set up before a flush and turn into it.1983 January, Peter MIller, “Agony of a Ski Racer”, in Ski, volume 47, number 5, page 39
  6. The act of overflushing.
    • This increase of typhoid fever was attributed to an overflush of the intercepting sewer in November, 1897, in consequence of which sewage was discharged into the Schuylkill river near the intake of the Queen Lane Pumping Station.1899, Fourth Annual Message of Charles F. Warwick, Mayor of the City of Philadelphia- Volume 2, page 21
    • Every now and then the outpouring of a house, or the overflush of a drain, sent a richly laden river flowing by , and then the children were busy and happy.1915, William Babington Maxwell, The Ragged Messenger, page 128
  7. A displacement fluid that is forced into a system in order to clear out active fluids that are used in a treatment, such as fracking, desalinization, etc.
    • A treatment volume, in field usage is currently 1100 gals of chemical plus 10,000 bbls. of the aquifer water as an overflush.1988, 4th Middle East Corrosion Conference: 11-13 January 1988, page 481
    • The overflush consisted of 100 bbls of uncrosslinked 3000 ppm polymer, followed by one wellbore volume (~150 bbls) plus 450 bbls crude behind pipe.1995, Proceedings, International Meeting on Petroleum Engineering, page 63
  8. The act or process of forcing overflush into a system in order to clear out active fluids.
    • With this type of proppant transport, the proppant bank will not be destroyed during the overflush of the diverter.1992, M.J. Economides, A Practical Companion to Reservoir Stimulation, page P-54
    • On the other hand, overflush systems contain a high percentage of active resin, and an overflush is required to push the excess resin away from the wellbore area to reestablish permeability. Only a residual amount of resin saturation, which should be concentrated at the sand contact points, should...2016, James G. Speight, Handbook of Hydraulic Fracturing, page 83

Verb

overflush (third-person singular simple present overflushes, present participle overflushing, simple past and past participle overflushed)

  1. To flood with too much liquid while cleansing.
    • It is a bad plan to overflush ewes, as they usually suffer more from loss of flesh during winter. The best plan is to get them fleshy, and then keep them thriving whilst with the ram.1894, Henry J. Webb, Advanced Agriculture, page 537
    • It is possible to overflush the casing and render it difficult to use. Too much soaking or flushing, or the use of water that is too hot, will remove some of the natural oils from the casings.1988, Albert Marchant Pearson, Thayne R. Dutson, Edible Meat By-products, page 267
  2. To flush too many toilets.
    • No substance goes out from you by perspiration, except the noxious matter that you ought to get rid of; and you might as well ask if the dinners of a city might not be diminished were its sewers overflushed.1865, David Urquhart, John Fife, Manual of the Turkish Bath, page 21
    • Again, children are more exposed to sewer-poisoning because they are kept indoors during "bad weather," just when the gases are rising into the house from the overflushed sewers.1879, The Journal of the British Homoeopathic Society - Volume 8, page 584
  3. To flood or inundate.
    • But Men when overflush'd with Drink, Are feldom capable to think.1725, Weighley, alias Wild, page 8
    • I've seen that fiend-law's introduction, In spite of Fielden, Stanhope , Oastler and the good: – Its mildest aim, murder and seduction, To overflush our streets with agony and blood!1839, George Robert Wythen Baxter, Don Juan Junior: A Poem, page 64
  4. To cover with or suffuse with a tinge or glow of color.
    • […] still they have a fragrance of nature about them, and a freshness, such as Scottish noses snuff up from bleak moors and green fields, envying not at all the strong aroma that flows from exuberant fields overflushed with the living gold and purple of a rich tropical vegetation.1854, The North British Review - Volume 20, page 149
    • A listening, longing silence fell Upon the elm-trees like a spell Of expectation and desire, And quick I saw the impulsive fire Of sunset overflush the white And waiting clouds with rosy light;1872, Rufus Wilmot Griswold, The Poets and Poetry of America, page 666
  5. To cover the face with blushing or a flush.
    • When Bernard de Avelyne concluded his ballad of Chivalry, the brightness that overflushed his face became gradually darker, his palsied hands forsook the harp, he buried his face in his hands and his hoary hair, and seemed to labour under that bodily as well as mental depression which sometimes...1820 December, “Recollections of Mark Macrabin, The Cameronian”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, volume 8, page 328
    • When first perceived Is there no sweet strife to forget, to change, To overflush those blemishes with all The glow of general goodness they disturb ?1868, Robert Browning, Pauline. Paracelsus. Strafford., page 129
  6. To suffuse.
    • Men, it is true, have probably far exceeded them in the actual amount of verse overflushed with feeling which they have created.1865, F.T. Palgrave, “Women and the Fine Arts”, in Macmillan's Magazine, volume 12, page 214
    • Religion has evanished from this late Renaissance art, nor has the afterglow of Guido Reni's hectic piety yet overflushed it.1898, John Addington Symonds, Horatio Forbes Brown, Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, page 86
  7. To wash over.
    • As Eloquence vpon a trotting nagge Out-ambles Wisdom in a morris daunce, Or as the waves doe overflush the crag — Gie rocks of fortune on the shores of Fraunce;1867, M.T., “The Inquirer”, in The British Controversialist and Literary Magazine, page 224
    • The acute, infectious cold, which is the basis of much later infection, could be rendered a far less potent cause of disorganization if all schoolrooms were overflushed with open air night and day.1915, Boston Medical and Surgical Journal - Volume 173, Issue 1, page 241
  8. To force overflush into a system in order to clear out the active fluids.
    • Overflush with 150 barrels of water .1980, Margaret K. Luther, Proceedings of the Technical Sessions, page 18
    • The larger volume of crude was pumped in an attempt to overflush the fracture as effectively as possible.1995, Proceedings, International Meeting on Petroleum Engineering, page 63

Adjective

overflush (comparative more overflush, superlative most overflush)

  1. Too flush; having an excess of something (too much money if nothing else is specified)
    • You're a poor man, I dare say. You don't look as if you were overflush of money.1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair
    • He rode into town from the Brazos, and Meekly called for his supper and bed; A dark-eyed gent with a nervous hand And a belt overflush with cold lead.1894, John Henton Carter, Duck Creek Ballads, page 132
  2. Protruding or sticking out rather than flush and smooth.
    • That is probably an overflush allusion .1937, Robert Phillips, Edward McChesney Sait, American Government and Its Problems, page 676
    • Head lamp mounting surface shallow —head lamp bezel will be overflush to fender causing appearance and fit problems.1987, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks, The Industrial Innovation and Technology Act, page 77

Adverb

overflush (comparative more overflush, superlative most overflush)

  1. Beyond the level that is flush and smooth.
    • The last two to three layers or 14 in. of the groove is filled up slightly overflush using 316-in. hard rod.1960, Iron and Steel Engineer - Volume 37, page 70
    • Minor imperfections (such as gasket frets and corrosion on the edges of water jacket holes,) should be brazed slightly overflush before the head is milled.2007, Paul Dempsey, Troubleshooting and Repair of Diesel Engines, page 161

Examples of overflush in a sentence

  • We have an overflush of money at present, but I hope to show the honourable member who is interesting himself in my affairs that the influence of money will dwindle rapidly.1949, New Zealand. Parliament, Parliamentary Debates - Volume 282, page 2036:
  • Margit , you've an overflush of sense in your composition.1898, William Edwards Tirebuck, Meg of the Scarlet Foot, page 189:
  • This is attributed to too wet a season and consequent overflush of feed .1899, New Zealand. Department of Agriculture, Report, page 69:
  • Caution is necessary, for an overflush of imaginative enthusiasm can produce a situation in which the activity becomes an end in its own right rather than the means to an end.2000, Tom Douglas, Basic Groupwork, page 76:

Forms of overflush

Noun
pluraloverflushes
Verb
third-person singular presentoverflushes
present participleoverflushing
past participleoverflushed
pastoverflushed
Adjective
comparativemore overflush
superlativemost overflush
Adverb
comparativemore overflush
superlativemost overflush

Origin of overflush

From over- + flush.

Questions about overflush

What does overflush mean?
Overflush means surplus assets.
How do you use overflush in a sentence?
We have an overflush of money at present, but I hope to show the honourable member who is interesting himself in my affairs that the influence of money will dwindle rapidly.
What part of speech is overflush?
Overflush can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb.
What is the plural of overflush?
The plural of overflush is overflushes.

Words near overflush in the dictionary

  1. overflowings
  2. overflown
  3. overflows
  4. overfluency
  5. overfluent
  6. overflush
  7. overflushed
  8. overflushes
  9. overflushing
  10. overflux
  11. overfly

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: overflush (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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