Definitions

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

  • noun The act or an instance of spilling over.
  • noun An amount or quantity spilled over.
  • noun A side effect arising from or as if from an unpredicted source.

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

  • noun That which overflows; the excess or side effect.
  • noun The spread of infectious disease between different species of animal and particularly to humans.

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

  • noun (economics) any indirect effect of public expenditure

Etymologies

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Examples

  • While the imagery and description of the crimes are always very vivid, the real sense of risk to El Pasoans can seem murky, particularly when reading over the debate of the term spillover, which is considered either an imminent threat to the American public or a reality that has been faced by the United States portion of the illegal drug industry for years.

    Newspaper Tree compiled Sito Negron 2009

  • Up next what they call the spillover -- the victims here, an American family abducted in Mexico.

    CNN Transcript Mar 25, 2009 2009

  • Up next, what they call the spillover, the victims here, an American family abducted in Mexico.

    CNN Transcript Mar 25, 2009 2009

  • We tend to differentiate between what we call spillover effects and spill-in pressures -- spillover effects and spill-in pressures that are linked.

    CFR.org - 2009

  • It's both about the current showdowns and the long-term spillover.

    Arab Spring hardening into summer of stalemates 2011

  • It's both about the current showdowns and the long-term spillover.

    Arab Spring hardening into summer of stalemates 2011

  • Also, there is a big difference between the dangers of the spillover from the Mexican drug trade (which does happen in Arizona) and the day-to-day lives of most undocumented migrants, who have nothing to do with that.

    Ewwwwwwww. karenhealey 2010

  • Even so, the show probably will get a ratings boost, if only as a curiosity spillover from the British version's discovery of Susan Boyle.

    Critic's Corner Tuesday 2009

  • The war began in 1996, with three main causes: the collapse of the Zairian state after 32 years of misrule; the spillover from the Rwandan genocide with a million refugees …

    Global Voices in English » DRC: Rape Epidemic Fuels Fistula Cases 2009

  • The war began in 1996, with three main causes: the collapse of the Zairian state after 32 years of misrule; the spillover from the Rwandan genocide with a million refugees …

    Global Voices in English » Video: Caring about Congo 2009

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