overruns

verb

present tense third-person singular of overrun
1
as in invades
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 exceeds
to go beyond the limit of he must not overrun his authority as governor

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in plagues
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 overruns After Jamie Gittens overruns the ball, Jorrel Hato picks up the pieces and reworks the move out wide to Cole Palmer. — Mark Carey, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overruns
  1. invades
  2. exceeds
  3. plagues
  4. raids
  5. surpasses
  6. infests
  7. ravages
  8. overwhelms
Verb
  • A couple of key injuries to defensive starters come as a high-flying offense led by quarterback Jared Goff invades Bank of America Stadium.
    — Joseph Person, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Damage is often concentrated in the lower areas of the plant, as Verticillium invades hosts from their base, working upwards.
    — Emily Leahy, Hartford Courant, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of invades
Verb
  • From scratch thousand island dressing exceeds the seven-day use-by date.
    — NWA Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Families spend about 9% to 16% of their median annual income on full-day care for just one child, and in some cases that cost exceeds their annual rent, according to a 2024 Labor Department report.
    — Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of exceeds
Verb
  • The depression that plagues him in winters is nowhere to be found.
    — David Mack, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Walker, who leads the NFL with 360 rushing yards, also is adept at avoiding an issue that plagues many ball carriers and receivers in the NFL.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of plagues
Verb
  • In the character's final scene, as the DEA raids her rural compound, Laurie ties a rope around her neck and jumps from the roof of her home.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026
  • In the meantime, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) finally raids Laurie's property, thanks to the intel Rue had been giving them.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 1 June 2026
Definition of raids
Verb
  • Brady, who has 187 regular-season victories, surpasses Hall of Famer Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning (186) for the most regular-season victories by a starting quarterback in NFL history.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Its best parts have a grandeur that surpasses its industrial settings and gets at something eerie and transcendent.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of surpasses
Verb
  • That essence is slimy, stinky and unrelenting, as reflected in the mass of algae that infests the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
    — Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 23 June 2026
  • The Lifeform spawns from a black, bacterial mold that infests the yellow wallpaper and moist carpets.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
Definition of infests
Verb
  • Over four decades, Steve Hanke has pursued a worldwide quest to tame the hyperinflation that so frequently ravages developing nations.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026
  • As Hurricane Lala ravages Hawaii, three people have died amid the storm.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of ravages
Verb
  • In 90 percent of instances, if a team overwhelms another in the trenches on both sides of the ball, that team wins the game handily.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Revenue that overwhelms delivery teams, adds friction for customers or depends on heroic effort is not the same as scalable growth.
    — Tim Dowd, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of overwhelms

Browse Nearby Words

overrunning
overruns
oversaw
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Overruns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overruns. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of jilt

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All