spillover

noun

spill·​over ˈspil-ˌō-vər 

often attributive

1

: the act or an instance of spilling over

2

: a quantity that spills over

3

: an extension of something especially when an excess exists

benefiting from a spillover of prosperity from neighboring states

Examples of spillover in a Sentence

Put a pan under the pie to catch any spillovers.

New technology has a positive spillover effect into countless fields.

Recent Examples on the Web

On Monday, per Comscore, there was a spillover from the Easter holiday, with 49% of K-12 schools off across the nation in addition to 9% of all colleges. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026

When Guthrie anchors the Today show on Easter Monday, a major break in the case withstanding, the Christian spillover-holiday will mark the 65th day since her mother, Nancy Guthrie, 84, was taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona. —Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2026

The future of legal sports betting States that have not yet legalized sports betting may still see similar trends in financial insecurity for reasons beyond spillover effects. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 31 Mar. 2026

Following the spillover of smog, the region’s pollution control domain necessarily grew bigger. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for spillover

• carryover
• changeover
• crossover
• cutover
• flashover
• hangover
• holdover
• layover
• leftover
• makeover
• moreover
• passover