overrun

6 definitions • 11 examples

If unwanted people or things overrun, they fill a place quickly and in large numbers:

Rebel soldiers overran the embassy last night.

Our kitchen is overrun with cockroaches.

to continue past an intended limit, especially a finishing time or a cost:

My evening class overran by ten minutes.

It looks as if we're going to overrun our budget.

a finishing time or a cost that continues past an intended limit:

The project was plagued by cost overruns and delays.

Politicians, facing budget overruns, continue to cut spending.

to spread over an area quickly and in large numbers:

The city has become increasingly unpleasant because it is overrun with tourists.

to continue past an agreed or expected limit, especially a finishing time or a cost:

Analysts say the cost of the improvements are bound to overrun.

overrun by 10 minutes/2 weeks/$1 million, etc. The 45 minutes allocated for the briefing overran by almost 30 minutes.

the fact that something has cost more money or taken more time than planned, or the additional amount of money or time spent:

He expects the department to cover this year's overrun by moving money from development.

an overrun of sth We found projects had an average time overrun of 17%.