overrun

[v. oh-ver-ruhn; n. oh-ver-ruhn] /v. ˌoʊ vərˈrʌn; n. ˈoʊ vərˌrʌn/
verb (used with object), overran, overrun, overrunning.
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, especially vermin; infest:
The house had been overrun by rats.
3.
to spread or grow rapidly over, as plants, especially 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.
  1. to print additional copies of (a book, pamphlet, etc.) in excess of the original or the usual order.
  2. to carry over (type or words) to another page.
10.
Nautical.
  1. to sail past (an intended stopping or turning point) by accident.
  2. (of a ship) to complete (a schedule of calls) more rapidly than anticipated.
11.
to outrun; overtake in running.
verb (used without object), overran, overrun, overrunning.
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, especially 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
before 900; Middle English overrennen, Old English oferyrnan. See over-, run
Examples from the web for overrun
  • But hopefully your university's not overrun by zombies.
  • Any workplace can become overrun by the gossip mill if the management structure in place allows for it.
  • Ticks gross me out and my field site is apparently overrun with them.
  • But many marine biologists are now questioning the idea that jellyfish have started to overrun the oceans.
  • In short, complex decisions overrun our cognitive powers.
  • Leaving the situation alone results in overrun of rabbits, cane toads and so forth.
  • What was the home of the free has been overrun by lawyers and politicians.
  • By these means the poets, for many years past, were all overrun with pedantry.
  • She found it overrun with many abuses, and plunged in shameful ignorance of many essential duties of religion.
  • It's not a city overrun with carts, stands, and tweeting trucks.
British Dictionary definitions for overrun

overrun

verb (ˌəʊvəˈrʌn) -runs, -running, -ran, -run
1.
(transitive) to attack or invade and defeat conclusively
2.
(transitive) to swarm or spread over rapidly
3.
to run over (something); overflow
4.
to extend or run beyond a limit
5.
(intransitive) (of an engine) to run with a closed throttle at a speed dictated by that of the vehicle it drives, as on a decline
6.
(transitive)
  1. to print (a book, journal, etc) in a greater quantity than ordered
  2. to print additional copies of (a publication)
7.
(transitive) (printing) to transfer (set type and other matter) from one column, line, or page, to another
8.
(transitive) (archaic) to run faster than
noun (ˈəʊvəˌrʌn)
9.
the act or an instance of overrunning
10.
the amount or extent of overrunning
11.
the number of copies of a publication in excess of the quantity ordered
12.
the cleared level area at the end of an airport runway
Word Origin and History for overrun
v.

Old English oferyrnan; see over- + run (v.). The noun meaning "excess expenditure over budget" is from 1956. Related: Overran; overrunning.

overrun in Technology


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).
[Jargon File]