Synonyms of overflows

overflows 1 of 2

noun

plural of overflow

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

• floods
• torrents
• streams
• inundations
• rivers
• tides
• influxes
• deluges
• flood tides
• baths
• Niagaras
• spates
• avalanches
• cataracts
• blizzards
• waterfalls
• alluvions
• cataclysms
• flushes
• cascades
• outpourings
• gushes
• cloudbursts
• outflows
• currents
• inflows
• fluxes
• discharges
• washouts
• excesses
• surpluses
• gluts
• overages
• surfeits
• superfluities
• engulfments
• overkills
• overmuch
• oversupplies
• superabundances
• overabundances

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• droughts
• drips
• trickles
• dribbles

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

• surpluses
• excesses
• sufficiencies
• abundances
• oversupplies
• overages
• surfeits
• surplusages
• overkills
• bounties
• superfluities
• overabundances
• overmuch
• redundancies
• superabundances
• bellyfuls
• overpluses
• pluses
• fat
• plenties
• profusions
• plethoras
• overstocks
• overproductions
• plentitudes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• deficiencies
• deficits
• insufficiencies
• lacks
• undersupplies
• wants
• scarcities
• dearths

overflows

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of overflow

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

• spills
• floods
• overfills
• flushes
• engulfs
• flows
• submerges
• pours
• inundates
• overwhelms
• gushes
• streams
• runs over
• deluges
• sluices
• boils over
• wells (up)
• spurts
• drowns
• spouts
• swamps
• washes (over)
• sloshes
• brims
• cascades
• slops
• submerses

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recedes

2

as in engulfs

to cover with a flood

the swollen river overflowed the surrounding land and washed several houses away

Synonyms & Similar Words

• floods
• engulfs
• overwhelms
• drowns
• submerges
• inundates
• deluges
• swamps
• flushes
• gulfs
• overcomes
• flows
• submerses
• gushes
• overruns
• smothers
• streams
• avalanches
• sluices
• spurts
• pours
• spouts
• wets
• drenches
• soaks
• douses

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• drains
• dries
• dehydrates
• parches

3

as in bursts

to be copiously supplied

a magazine that usually overflows with home-repair tips for the do-it-yourselfer

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bursts
• buzzes
• abounds
• brims
• bulges
• teems
• hums
• crawls
• bristles
• bustles
• swarms
• pullulates

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• needs
• wants
• lacks

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of overflows

Noun

The governor’s office said the state was securing its harbors, deploying emergency personnel to strategic locations and monitoring dams for any possible breaches or overflows. — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 6 Sep. 2026

Weeks after overflows from Atlanta’s sewer tunnels contributed to the deaths of thousands of fish on the Chattahoochee River, the city’s Department of Watershed Management says its investigating another fish kill on a different river. — Drew Kann, AJC.com, 1 July 2026

As Connecticut’s climate changes, more frequent and intense storms have lead to more overflows. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026

The contamination, according to the organization, is often caused by sewage overflows, waste from large-scale farming, and urban runoff. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 25 June 2026

Researchers believe periodic flooding and river overflows helped preserve the eggs by covering them in sediment millions of years ago. — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 23 May 2026

As long as the 83/17 split remains in place, protecting local waterways from combined sewer overflows will continue to exacerbate the water affordability crisis in Detroit. — Nicole Van Lier, The Conversation, 13 May 2026

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

Verb

Nowadays, the Bemelmans Bar overflows with tourists fresh off the bus and twentysomethings who have pre-screened it on Instagram, and has lost its old, beautiful emptiness, but doubtless the same pull that drew us draws them. — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026

The history of oil overflows with examples of imperialistic overreach being confronted, eventually, by populist backlash, leftist governments, and asset seizures. — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 1 Sep. 2026

Claudia Rankine’s new book overflows with grief for the backlash to racial progress, but history isn’t finished. — Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026

Choose Camps Bay Beach for a party scene along a promenade that overflows with shops and bars, or take a stroll to Clifton, a more secluded beach partitioned into four sections by giant rocks. — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Aug. 2026

It's believed the debris washed ashore following recent heavy rainfall and sewer overflows, according to local reports citing the NJDEP. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026

These overflows may send stormwater mixed with untreated or partially treated sewage into waterways. — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026

But the film overflows with childlike wonder, a comic-strip dream of girls next door and nerdy weirdoes growing muscles with puberty. — Darren Franich, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Aug. 2026

Apart from animal experiences, this seasonal outdoor water park overflows with plenty of rides, slides, rivers, and swimming areas like the Big Surf Shores wave pool or the Walhalla Wave tube ride. — Carly Caramanna, Travel + Leisure, 31 July 2026