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9 dictionary results for: overflow

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

o·ver·flow

[v. oh-ver-floh; n. oh-ver-floh] Pronunciation Key verb, -flowed, -flown, -flow·ing, noun

–verb (used without object)

1.	to flow or run over, as rivers or water: After the thaw, the river overflows and causes great damage.

2.	to have the contents flowing over or spilling, as an overfull container: Stop pouring or your glass is going to overflow.

3.	to pass from one place or part to another as if flowing from an overfull space: The population overflowed into the adjoining territory.

4.	to be filled or supplied with in great measure: a heart overflowing with gratitude; a region overflowing with orchards and vineyards.

–verb (used with object)

5.	to flow over; flood; inundate: The river overflowed several farms.

6.	to flow over or beyond (the brim, banks, borders, etc.).

7.	to cause to overflow.

8.	to flow over the edge or brim of (a receptacle, container, etc.).

9.	to fill to the point of running over.

–noun

10.	an overflowing: the annual overflow of the Nile.

11.	something that flows or runs over: to carry off the overflow from a fountain.

12.	a portion crowded out of an overfilled place: to house the overflow of the museum's collection in another building.

13.	an excess or superabundance: an overflow of applicants for the job.

14.	an outlet or receptacle for excess liquid: The tank is equipped with an overflow.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME overflowen, OE oferflōwan. See over-, flow

]

—Related forms

o·ver·flow·a·ble, adjective

o·ver·flow·ing·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 13. overabundance, surplus, plethora, flood, glut.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

o·ver·flow   (ō'vər-flō') Pronunciation Key
v.   o·ver·flowed, o·ver·flow·ing, o·ver·flows

v.   intr.

To flow or run over the top, brim, or banks.
To be filled beyond capacity, as a container or waterway.
To have a boundless supply; be superabundant. See Synonyms at teem¹.

v. tr.

To flow over the top, brim, or banks of.
To spread or cover over; flood.
To cause to fill beyond capacity.

n. (ō'vər-flō')

The act of overflowing.
Something that flows over; an excess.
An outlet or vent through which excess liquid may escape.
Computer Science A condition in which a calculation produces a unit of data too large to be stored in the location allotted to it.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
overflow (v.)

O.E. oferfleow "to flow across, flood, inundate," also "to flow over (a brim or bank)," from ofer "over" + fleow "flow." The noun is attested from 1589.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

overflow
noun
1.	a large flow [syn: flood]
2.	the occurrence of surplus liquid (as water) exceeding the limit or capacity
verb
1.	flow or run over (a limit or brim)
2.	overflow with a certain feeling; "The children bubbled over with joy"; "My boss was bubbling over with anger" [syn: bubble over]

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Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This

overflow

bit n.
1. [techspeak] A flag on some processors indicating an attempt to calculate a result too large for a register to hold.
2. More generally, an indication of any kind of capacity overload condition. "Well, the Ada description was baroque all right, but I could hack it OK until they got to the exception handling ... that set my overflow bit."
3. The hypothetical bit that will be set if a hacker doesn't get to make a trip to the Room of Porcelain Fixtures: "I'd better process an internal interrupt before the overflow bit gets set."

Jargon File 4.2.0

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Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This

overflow

pdl n. [MIT] The place where you put things when your PDL is full. If you don't have one and too many things get pushed, you forget something. The overflow pdl for a person's memory might be a memo pad. This usage inspired the following doggerel:

Hey, diddle, diddle The overflow pdl To get a little more stack; If that's not enough Then you lose it all, And have to pop all the way back. -The Great Quux

The term `pdl' (see PDL) seems to be primarily an MITism; outside MIT this term is replaced by `overflow stack' (but that wouldn't rhyme with `diddle').

Jargon File 4.2.0

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Overflow

O`ver*flow"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Overflowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Overflowing.] [AS. oferfl?wan. See Over, and Flow.]

1. To flow over; to cover woth, or as with, water or other fluid; to spread over; to inundate; to overwhelm.

The northern nations overflowed all Christendom. --Spenser.

2. To flow over the brim of; to fill more than full.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Overflow

O`ver*flow"\, v. i. 1. To run over the bounds.