Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The fact or process of spilling over.
  • noun Something that spills over.
  • noun Chiefly British Movement of people from overcrowded cities to less populated areas.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun That which spills over.
  • verb To spill over, to overflow, to spill out of.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the occurrence of surplus liquid (as water) exceeding the limit or capacity
  • noun the relocation of people from overcrowded cities; they are accommodated in new houses or apartments in smaller towns

Etymologies

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Examples

  • When I was young, douce burghs like Haddington and Dumfries accepted Glasgow "overspill" populations i.e. cleared slum-dwellers.

    Whae's Like Us ? Laban 2005

  • At first he believed his dreams to be some kind of overspill from a full-sense drama that was leaking into the Centurion Station gaiafield.

    The Dreaming Void Hamilton, Peter F. 2007

  • The council also began a programme of buying land in surrounding areas and moving people and industry into newly developed "overspill" estates.

    Latest news from the public and voluntary sectors, including health, children, local government and social care, plus SocietyGuardian jobs | guardian.co.uk Phil Redmond 2010

  • It was Dawley journalist Mr Bowdler who, in February 1955, wrote an article published in a Birmingham newspaper which suggested that the vast swathes of derelict land in east Shropshire could be used for housing to accommodate the Birmingham "overspill" population.

    Shropshire Star 2008

  • The Moscow-based Orbital Technologies has sky-high hopes that its planned Commercial Space Station can serve as a tourism hub for well-heeled travellers and offer overspill accommodation for the International Space Station and workspace for science projects.

    Russian Firm Plans Orbiting Hotel In Space The Huffington Post News Team 2010

  • The Moscow-based Orbital Technologies has sky-high hopes that its planned Commercial Space Station can serve as a tourism hub for well-heeled travellers and offer overspill accommodation for the International Space Station and workspace for science projects.

    Russian Firm Plans Orbiting Hotel In Space The Huffington Post News Team 2010

  • The park, a maze of fences and wires and signposts, is undergoing regeneration; the Olympics is not mentioned, but, says Sinclair, it's the overspill from it.

    How power, money and art are shifting to the East End 2011

  • The Moscow-based Orbital Technologies has sky-high hopes that its planned Commercial Space Station can serve as a tourism hub for well-heeled travellers and offer overspill accommodation for the International Space Station and workspace for science projects.

    Russian Firm Plans Orbiting Hotel In Space AP 2010

  • You have to give them some space, she said, staring askance at my storage methods, which involved squishing together as many garments as possible and stowing the overspill under the bed, which was itself overspilling.

    Creating Your Own Clearance Rack Tina Gaudoin 2011

  • Zuccotti is already packed, according to reports, so there is going to be some overspill.5.39pm: The march is now leaving Foley Square and heading for Zuccotti Park, site of the Occupy Wall Street demonstration.

    Occupy Wall Street protests - live coverage 2011

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