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Overflow vs Overspill - What's the difference?

overflow | overspill |

As nouns the difference between overflow and overspill

is that overflow is the spillage resultant from overflow; excess while overspill is that which spills over.

As verbs the difference between overflow and overspill

is that overflow is to flow over the brim of (a container) while overspill is to spill over, to overflow, to spill out of.

overflow

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • The spillage resultant from overflow; excess.
  • Outlet for escape of excess material.
  • (computing) The situation where a value exceeds the available numeric range.
  • Derived terms

    * overflow hole

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To flow over the brim of (a container).
  • The river overflowed the levee.
  • To cover with a liquid, literally or figuratively.
  • The flash flood overflowed most of the parkland and some homes.
  • * 1851 , Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
  • So when they were working that evening at the pumps, there was on this head no small gamesomeness slily going on among them, as they stood with their feet continually overflowed by the rippling clear water
  • To cause an overflow. (rfex)
  • To flow over the edge of a container.
  • The waters overflowed into the Ninth Ward.
  • To exceed limits or capacity.
  • The hospital ER was overflowing with flu cases.
  • # (computing, ambitransitive) To exceed the available numeric range.
  • Calculating 255+1 will overflow an eight-bit byte.
  • To be superabundant; to abound.
  • (Rogers)

    Derived terms

    * buffer overflow * underflow English heteronyms ----

    overspill

    English

    Noun

    (-)
  • That which spills over.
  • New towns were to accommodate overspill from established cities.

    Verb

  • To spill over, to overflow, to spill out of.
  • * 2002 , Urlan Wannop, Regional Imperative: Regional Planning and Governance in Britain , page 93:
  • Further, Coventry's prosperity and rapid growth was threatening that it as well as Birmingham would require to overspill its boundaries.
  • * 2004 , Delilah Devlin, Pirate's Desire , page 202:
  • Calandra added more, until the oil threatened to overspill her palm.

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