overrun

Verb

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.
   • 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.2000 April 26, Walter A. McDougall, “Who Were We in Vietnam?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 May 2015, retrieved 03 Aug 2008
2. (transitive) To infest, swarm over, flow over.
   • The cathedral square was overrun with tourists.
   • The vine overran its trellis; the field is overrun with weeds.
3. (transitive) To run past; to run beyond.
   • The athlete overran the finish line and kept going.
   • One line overruns another in length.
   1. (transitive) To run past the end of.
      • The aircraft didn't stop in time and overran the runway.
4. (intransitive) To continue for too long.
   • The performance overran by ten minutes, which caused some people to miss their bus home.

   Synonyms:

   run over

5. (transitive) To carry (some type, a line or column, etc.) backward or forward into an adjacent line or page.

   Synonyms:

   run over

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.
   • 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...2024 June 9, maia arson crimew, “israeli national police found trying to purchase stalkerware”, in maia blog, archived from the original on 23 Aug 2024
7. (transitive) To abuse or oppress, as if by treading upon.
   • None of them the feeble overren.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 9
   • 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...2005, Jesse Helms, “Jimmy Carter”, in Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir, New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 106–107

   Synonyms:

   run over

Noun

UK/ˈəʊ.vəˌɹʌn/US/ˈoʊ.vɚˌɹʌn/

overrun (countable and uncountable, plural overruns)

1. An instance of overrunning.
   • 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.2013 June 18, Simon Romero, “Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 11 Aug 2020
   • Tesla’s first decade was plagued by unmet deadlines, technical snafus and cost overruns.2021 December 13, Molly Ball, Jeffrey Kluger, Alejandro de la Garza, “Elon Musk: Person of the Year 2021”, in TIME, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2021
   1. A turnover: a break to a new line by text flowing within the column.
2. The amount by which something overruns.
   • At least this year's overrun isn't as unmanageable as last year!
3. 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.
   • The runway has 7,000 feet of paved surface, plus a 2,000-foot grass overrun.

   Synonyms:

   runway safety area, stopway

4. Air that is whipped into a frozen dessert to make it easier to serve and eat.
   • If ice cream has too much overrun, it will be airy and foamy and will lack flavor.2004, Wayne Gisslen, Professional Baking, page 497