1
as in floods
a great flow of water or of something that overwhelms
a great overflow of water from the heavy rains swept mud and silt down onto the highway
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in surpluses
the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed
an overflow of help actually made the job more complicated
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in spills
to flow over the brim or top of
while the wine steward stood there gawking at the nearby celebrity, my expensive champagne was overflowing its glass and pouring onto our table
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in engulfs
to cover with a flood
the swollen river overflowed the surrounding land and washed several houses away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overflows
Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026
And in places where sewage and rain flow through the same pipes, heavy rains made worse by climate change can make overflows to waterways more frequent and severe.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
The overflows have triggered a number of recreational and shellfish harvesting advisories along the Potomac.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 22 Feb. 2026
During a raucous and at times contentious meeting that lasted more than three hours, residents said the facility would damage drinking water quality, and harm the environment, frequently citing concerns about both potential flooding and overflows and about the ongoing drought.
—Liz Teitz, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Feb. 2026
As a result, sewage blockages and overflows became widespread, increasing the risk of wastewater contaminating drinking water sources and heightening the likelihood of outbreaks of diarrhea, hepatitis A and other waterborne diseases in an already vulnerable community.
—Sarah Ferguson, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
However, long-term problems persist as completely eliminating overflows will take decades, according to officials.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 16 Jan. 2026
The buildup can also clog sewage systems, leading to overflows that send raw sewage into rivers, lakes, and oceans.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
Officials at the Water Reclamation Authority are pursuing new goals after the utility was officially released last year from a pair of longstanding legal agreements that required the utility to address sewer overflows, leading to major investments across the system.
—Arkansas Online, 22 Oct. 2025
Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 16 Apr. 2026
In urban areas, the conditions also heighten the risk of combined sewer overflows, when stormwater mixes with untreated sewage, said Allison Fore, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
—Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Baltimore’s efforts are reducing sewer overflows but take time and must be balanced with cost, according to city’s Department of Public Works.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
The City of Atlanta's Department of Watershed Management is building an underground vault with a park on top to improve stormwater management, enhance drainage, and decrease flooding and sewer overflows that have historically impacted the area.
—Drew Kann, AJC.com, 28 Feb. 2026
The City maintains reimbursement programs for certain wet-weather sanitary sewer overflows; however, eligibility is governed by specific criteria.
—Kaicey Baylor, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
Fixing those backups is expensive, and sometimes clogging can cause sewage overflows into streets, yards, rivers and lakes.
—Julia James, Dallas Morning News, 19 Feb. 2026
Gussie Maguire, a Maryland staff scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, told The Hill that sewage overflows are more common than many may realize.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 13 Feb. 2026
The villain, Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, overflows with humanity, too.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
Noun
That can allow attackers to leverage serious vulnerabilities like buffer overflows and memory leaks to compromise devices.
—Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026
And in places where sewage and rain flow through the same pipes, heavy rains made worse by climate change can make overflows to waterways more frequent and severe.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
The overflows have triggered a number of recreational and shellfish harvesting advisories along the Potomac.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 22 Feb. 2026
During a raucous and at times contentious meeting that lasted more than three hours, residents said the facility would damage drinking water quality, and harm the environment, frequently citing concerns about both potential flooding and overflows and about the ongoing drought.
—Liz Teitz, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Feb. 2026
As a result, sewage blockages and overflows became widespread, increasing the risk of wastewater contaminating drinking water sources and heightening the likelihood of outbreaks of diarrhea, hepatitis A and other waterborne diseases in an already vulnerable community.
—Sarah Ferguson, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
However, long-term problems persist as completely eliminating overflows will take decades, according to officials.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 16 Jan. 2026
The buildup can also clog sewage systems, leading to overflows that send raw sewage into rivers, lakes, and oceans.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
Officials at the Water Reclamation Authority are pursuing new goals after the utility was officially released last year from a pair of longstanding legal agreements that required the utility to address sewer overflows, leading to major investments across the system.
—Arkansas Online, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
During this time of year, the area overflows with purples, golds, and greens, with plenty of family-friendly parades on the schedule—and lots of king cake to go around.
—Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 16 Apr. 2026
In urban areas, the conditions also heighten the risk of combined sewer overflows, when stormwater mixes with untreated sewage, said Allison Fore, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
—Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
Baltimore’s efforts are reducing sewer overflows but take time and must be balanced with cost, according to city’s Department of Public Works.
—ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026
The City of Atlanta's Department of Watershed Management is building an underground vault with a park on top to improve stormwater management, enhance drainage, and decrease flooding and sewer overflows that have historically impacted the area.
—Drew Kann, AJC.com, 28 Feb. 2026
The City maintains reimbursement programs for certain wet-weather sanitary sewer overflows; however, eligibility is governed by specific criteria.
—Kaicey Baylor, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
Fixing those backups is expensive, and sometimes clogging can cause sewage overflows into streets, yards, rivers and lakes.
—Julia James, Dallas Morning News, 19 Feb. 2026
Gussie Maguire, a Maryland staff scientist with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, told The Hill that sewage overflows are more common than many may realize.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 13 Feb. 2026
The villain, Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, overflows with humanity, too.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overflows
Noun
-
Haiti’s recent catastrophic floods have only compounded the country’s overlapping crises.—
Hira Humayun,
CNN Money,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The camp plans to implement emergency training and drills for floods, fire and other disasters, but investigators found the lack of previous training was key in the deaths.—
Jim Vertuno,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
For the last quarter of the 20th century, presidents and Congresses of both parties annually debated how to reduce deficits and several times reached consequential multi-year deals, culminating during the second Clinton term in four straight years of surpluses.—
Jackie Calmes,
Mercury News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Huge surpluses of nutrients congregate in the dense urban corridors of the Northeast and the massive livestock hubs of the West.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Horsetail Falls Further up the gorge, Horsetail Falls spills 176 feet down a sheer rock face.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Sioux Falls On the eastern edge of the state, Sioux Falls is best known for Falls Park, where the Big Sioux River spills over wide stretches of pink quartzite rock.—
Midwest Living,
Midwest Living,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Haaland bursts our bubble almost immediately by scoring in the opening five minutes, and Burnley miss a few good first-half chances, with striker Zian Flemming particularly culpable.—
Nnamdi Onyeagwara,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The 60-year immigration bubble finally bursts.—
,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Spring rains and winter snowmelt have swelled rivers and lakes, forcing torrents of water through Cheboygan County communities on its way to Lake Huron.—
Sarah Brumfield,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The silken charcoal bathrobes are a decadent touch, as are the welcome torrents of piping water that rain from monsoon showers and the wonderful organic soaps.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Without explicit mention of the Epstein survivors, Khanna said Charles’ message on the excesses of executive power was undermined.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
28 Apr. 2026
-
In this environment of yachts, red carpets and excesses, the cast will give life to a new group of guests whose vacation, if the season follows tradition, will be cut short by a crime.—
Diego Parrado,
Vanity Fair,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
To better understand the technicals, resistance happens when supply from sellers overwhelms demand from buyers, and the stock struggles to appreciate further; the opposite is true of support, which happens when demand from buyers overwhelms supply from sellers, and the stock tends to move higher.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
27 Apr. 2026
-
At the scale of ⁴²Ar, that interference completely overwhelms the signal, keeping it out of reach.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Meanwhile, the boarding house buzzes around him.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
26 Apr. 2026
-
At night, Bar Dryce buzzes with hip city-dwellers and, on weekends, DJ sets.—
Regan Stephens,
Travel + Leisure,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overflows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overflows. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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