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overrun

 - 3 dictionary results

o⋅ver⋅run

[v. oh-ver-ruhn; n. oh-ver-ruhn] verb, -ran, -run, -run⋅ning, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to rove over (a country, region, etc.); invade; ravage: a time when looting hordes had overrun the province.
2. to swarm over in great numbers, as animals, esp. vermin; infest: The house had been overrun by rats.
3. to spread or grow rapidly over, as plants, esp. vines, weeds, etc.: a garden overrun with weeds.
4. to attack and defeat decisively, occupying and controlling the enemy's position; overwhelm.
5. to spread rapidly throughout, as a new idea or spirit: a rekindling of scholarship that had overrun Europe.
6. to run or go beyond, as a certain limit: The new jet overran the landing field.
7. to exceed, as a budget or estimate: to overrun one's allotted time.
8. to run over; overflow: During the flood season, the river overruns its banks for several miles.
9. Printing.
a. to print additional copies of (a book, pamphlet, etc.) in excess of the original or the usual order.
b. to carry over (type or words) to another page.
10. Nautical.
a. to sail past (an intended stopping or turning point) by accident.
b. (of a ship) to complete (a schedule of calls) more rapidly than anticipated.
11. to outrun; overtake in running.
–verb (used without object)
12. to run over; overflow: a stream that always overruns at springtime.
13. to exceed the proper, desired, or normal quantity, limit, order, etc.: Do you want to overrun on this next issue?
–noun
14. an act or instance of overrunning.
15. an amount in excess; surplus: an overrun of 10,000 copies of a new book.
16. the exceeding of estimated costs in design, development, and production, esp. as estimated in a contract: a staggering overrun on the new fighter plane.
17. the amount exceeded: an overrun of $500,000 for each fighter plane.
18. a run on an item of manufacture beyond the quantity ordered by a customer and often offered at a discount.
19. the amount by which the volume of a food, as butter or ice cream, is increased above the original volume by the inclusion of air, water, or another substance: With only a 20 percent overrun, this is an excellent ice cream.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME overrennen, OE oferyrnan. See over-, run
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To overrun
o·ver·run   (ō'vər-rŭn')   
v.   o·ver·ran (-rān'), o·ver·run, o·ver·run·ning, o·ver·runs

v.   tr.
    1. To seize the positions of and defeat conclusively: The position of the forward infantry was overrun by large numbers of enemy troops at dawn.

    2. To spread or swarm over destructively: Locusts overran the prairie.

    3. To run beyond or past; overshoot: The plane overran the end of the runway.

    4. To run or extend beyond (a limit); exceed: Your speech has overrun the time limit.

    5. To rearrange or move (set type or pictures) from one column, line, or page to another.

    6. To set too much type for.

    7. To print (a job order) in a quantity larger than that ordered.

  1. To spread swiftly throughout: The new fashion overran the country.

  2. To overflow: The river overran its banks.

    1. To run beyond or past; overshoot: The plane overran the end of the runway.

    2. To run or extend beyond (a limit); exceed: Your speech has overrun the time limit.

    3. To rearrange or move (set type or pictures) from one column, line, or page to another.

    4. To set too much type for.

    5. To print (a job order) in a quantity larger than that ordered.

  3. Printing

    1. To rearrange or move (set type or pictures) from one column, line, or page to another.

    2. To set too much type for.

    3. To print (a job order) in a quantity larger than that ordered.

v.   intr.
  1. To run over; overflow.

  2. To go beyond the normal or desired limit.

n.   (ō'vər-rŭn')
  1. An act of overrunning.

  2. The amount by which something overruns.

    1. The exceeding of estimated costs for product development and manufacture covered by contract.

    2. The amount by which actual costs exceed estimates.

  3. Printing A run over and above the quantity ordered by a customer.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Computing Dictionary

overrun
1. A frequent consequence of data arriving faster than it can be consumed, especially in serial line communications. For example, at 9600 baud there is almost exactly one character per millisecond, so if a silo can hold only two characters and the machine takes longer than 2 milliseconds to get to service the interrupt, at least one character will be lost.
2. Also applied to non-serial-I/O communications. "I forgot to pay my electric bill due to mail overrun." "Sorry, I got four phone calls in 3 minutes last night and lost your message to overrun." When thrashing at tasks, the next person to make a request might be told "Overrun!" Compare firehose syndrome.
3. More loosely, may refer to a buffer overflow not necessarily related to processing time (as in overrun screw).
[The Jargon File]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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