Library / English Dictionary

OVERRUN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: overran    , overrunning   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Too much production or more than expected

Synonyms:

overproduction; overrun

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("overrun" is a kind of...):

production ((economics) manufacturing or mining or growing something (usually in large quantities) for sale)

Derivation:

overrun (flow or run over (a limit or brim))

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Run beyond or past

Example:

The plane overran the runway

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "overrun" is one way to...):

overshoot (aim too high)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Seize the position of and defeat

Example:

the Crusaders overran much of the Holy Land

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "overrun" is one way to...):

defeat; get the better of; overcome (win a victory over)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Invade in great numbers

Example:

the roaches infested our kitchen

Synonyms:

infest; overrun

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "overrun" is one way to...):

invade; occupy (march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Flow or run over (a limit or brim)

Synonyms:

brim over; overflow; overrun; run over; well over

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "overrun" is one way to...):

run out; spill (flow, run or fall out and become lost)

"Overrun" entails doing...:

course; feed; flow; run (move along, of liquids)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "overrun"):

geyser (to overflow like a geyser)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

overrun (too much production or more than expected)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Occupy in large numbers or live on a host

Example:

the Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North

Synonyms:

infest; invade; overrun

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "overrun" is one way to...):

inhabit (be present in)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

He took notice of a general tradition, that Yahoos had not been always in their country; but that many ages ago, two of these brutes appeared together upon a mountain; whether produced by the heat of the sun upon corrupted mud and slime, or from the ooze and froth of the sea, was never known; that these Yahoos engendered, and their brood, in a short time, grew so numerous as to overrun and infest the whole nation; that the Houyhnhnms, to get rid of this evil, made a general hunting, and at last enclosed the whole herd; and destroying the elder, every Houyhnhnm kept two young ones in a kennel, and brought them to such a degree of tameness, as an animal, so savage by nature, can be capable of acquiring, using them for draught and carriage; that there seemed to be much truth in this tradition, and that those creatures could not be yinhniamshy (or aborigines of the land), because of the violent hatred the Houyhnhnms, as well as all other animals, bore them, which, although their evil disposition sufficiently deserved, could never have arrived at so high a degree if they had been aborigines, or else they would have long since been rooted out; that the inhabitants, taking a fancy to use the service of the Yahoos, had, very imprudently, neglected to cultivate the breed of asses, which are a comely animal, easily kept, more tame and orderly, without any offensive smell, strong enough for labour, although they yield to the other in agility of body, and if their braying be no agreeable sound, it is far preferable to the horrible howlings of the Yahoos.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)