1. [n]  too much production or more than expected
2. [adj]  (often followed by `with' or used in combination) troubled by or encroached upon in large numbers; "waters infested with sharks"; "shark-infested waters"; "the locust-overrun countryside"; "drug-plagued streets"
3. [v]  invade in great numbers, as of pests
4. [v]  flow or run over (a limit or brim)
5. [v]  occupy in large numbers or live on a host; "cockroaches invaded my kitchen"; "Ants overran the picnic table"; "the Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North"

1. \O`ver*run"\, v. t. [imp. {Overran}; p. p. {Overrun}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Overrunning}. ]
   1. To run over; to grow or spread over in excess; to invade
      and occupy; to take possession of; as, the vine overran
      its trellis; the farm is overrun with witch grass.
            Those barbarous nations that overran the world.
                                                  --Spenser.
   2. To exceed in distance or speed of running; to go beyond or
      pass in running.
            Ahimaaz run by the way of the plain, and overran
            Cushi.                                --2 Sam.
                                                  xviii. 23.
   3. To go beyond; to extend in part beyond; as, one line
      overruns another in length.
   Note: In machinery, a sliding piece is said to overrun its
         bearing when its forward end goes beyond it.
   4. To abuse or oppress, as if by treading upon.
            None of them the feeble overran.      --Spenser.
   5. (Print.)
      (a) To carry over, or back, as type, from one line or page
          into the next after, or next before.
      (b) To extend the contents of (a line, column, or page)
          into the next line, column, or page.
   

2. \O`ver*run"\, v. i.
   1. To run, pass, spread, or flow over or by something; to be
      beyond, or in excess.
            Despised and trodden down of all that overran.
                                                  --Spenser.
   2. (Print.) To extend beyond its due or desired length; as, a
      line, or advertisement, overruns.
   

1. A frequent consequence of data arriving faster than it can be consumed, especially in serial line communications. For example, at 9600 baud there is almost exactly one character per millisecond, so if a silo can hold only two characters and the machine takes longer than 2 milliseconds to get to service the interrupt, at least one character will be lost.

2. Also applied to non-serial-I/O communications. "I forgot to pay my electric bill due to mail overrun." "Sorry, I got four phone calls in 3 minutes last night and lost your message to overrun." When thrashing at tasks, the next person to make a request might be told "Overrun!" Compare firehose syndrome.

3. More loosely, may refer to a buffer overflow not necessarily related to processing time (as in overrun screw).

[Jargon File]