overrun

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to spread over or fill a place in uncontrolled or excessive numbers

   Without regular pruning, ivy will overrun the garden wall.

2. 2
   verb

   to invade, defeat, and occupy a place or position

   The advancing army overran the border forts within two days.

3. 3
   verb

   to continue beyond an allotted limit of time, cost, or space

   The meeting may overrun its scheduled hour.

4. 4
   noun

   an amount produced, spent, or used beyond what was planned

   A printing overrun left the publisher with five hundred extra copies.

Common collocations

• cost overrun Noun + noun

From over- + run, continuing an Old English compound pattern. The earliest senses concern running or ranging across a place; military occupation, uncontrolled spreading, and exceeding a planned limit all develop from the image of passing beyond a boundary.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images