1
as in invaded
to enter for conquest or plunder
waves of barbarians overran the Roman Empire during its long decline
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in exceeded
to go beyond the limit of
he must not overrun his authority as governor
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in infested
to spread or swarm over in a troublesome manner
ants are overrunning the garden
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of overran
Although the city had previously cleared Columbus Park, RVs and encampments returned and overran the public space.
—
Devan Patel, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025
The injury occurred on a foul pop out in which Goldschmidt overran the ball and had to recover to make the catch.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 17 Aug. 2025
Devan Patel, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025
The injury occurred on a foul pop out in which Goldschmidt overran the ball and had to recover to make the catch.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 17 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overran
Verb
-
The president framed efforts to end the foreign war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, as a matter of duty.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Squandered Opportunities for Venezuela After Russia invaded Ukraine, the Biden administration tried to induce Venezuelan cooperation with sanctions relief.—
Wesley Alexander Hill,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
During a three-day bench trial last month, a lawyer representing the state of California, argued that the troops’ roles exceeded protective support and ventured into active law enforcement, and said Breyer needed to step in to make sure proper boundaries were in place.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
While Sam’s Club doesn’t disclose financial results from its retail media business, Ma told me advertiser demand exceeded available partnership slots for the Race to the Club and INDYCAR events.—
Kiri Masters,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
And then some of these astronauts get infested with extraterrestrial bugs, and everything becomes extremely gross.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Frustrated by delays in federal and state deterrence projects, and annoyed by their own encounters with the flying fish, residents of a small town in western Illinois saw both a challenge and an opportunity in the large numbers of silver carp that infested their stretch of the Illinois River.—
Adriana Pérez,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Sovereign was raided by the FBI in 2017.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Altunar and 30 others were arrested in June in Kings Mountain when about 100 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers raided a fire equipment plant.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
According to the Associated Press, the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 64,000.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Charlotte posted five different drives of eight plays or more, three of which surpassed 60 yards on the drive.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This particular finding presents a more nuanced framing of gun violence and challenges dominant narratives about Chicago’s violence that have plagued the city’s reputation for decades.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The study also pinpointed a bacterium that plagued these colossal ice age creatures.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Billing engineers were overwhelmed by manual updates, especially for enterprise contracts that spanned multiple clouds and organizational units.—
Scott Woody,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
-
And even before the storm made landfall, the levees protecting New Orleans began to fail, overwhelmed by heavy rain and massive storm surges.—
Reena Advani,
NPR,
1 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overran.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overran. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share