The word "overrunning" is spelled as /ˌəʊvərˈrʌnɪŋ/. It is a verb that suggests an act of conquering or surpassing an opponent in terms of speed or power. The spelling of the word can be divided into four syllables: "o," "ver," "run," and "ning". The first syllable is pronounced as "oh" followed by "ver" pronounced as "vur," "run" pronounced as "run," and "ning" pronounced as "ning." The word is commonly used in sports and military contexts where one team or army overcomes another.
Overrunning is a term that refers to a situation where something exceeds its expected or planned limit, capacity, or boundaries, often resulting in a disruptive or chaotic state. It can be used in various contexts and can apply to both physical and metaphorical situations.
In a physical sense, overrunning typically implies the act of surpassing or occupying more space or time than initially allotted or scheduled. For instance, in construction or engineering, overrunning may occur when a project takes more time or effort to complete than originally estimated, leading to delays or cost overruns. Similarly, in transportation, overrunning can describe a scenario in which a vehicle exceeds its intended stopping point or fails to decelerate appropriately.
Metaphorically, overrunning can denote a situation where events or circumstances escalate beyond control or expectation, often resulting in disorder or confusion. This can be observed in industries such as finance, where an overrunning of market demand can lead to inflation or an economic bubble. Additionally, in sports or games, overrunning may refer to a team or player dominating their opponents to the point of overwhelming them.
Overall, overrunning describes a scenario where a subject or situation surpasses predetermined limits, whether those limits are physical, temporal, or conceptual. It emphasizes an excess or surpassing of expectations and highlights the potential consequences that can arise from such overextension.
Spreading over; ravaging.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "overrunning" is derived from the combination of two separate words: "over" and "running".
The word "over" is derived from the Old English word "ofer", which is closely related to the German word "über". Both words share the meaning of "above" or "beyond". Over time, "over" came to be used to indicate excess, superiority, or spatial relationships, such as moving across or beyond something.
On the other hand, the word "running" comes from the Old English word "rinnan", meaning "to run" or "to flow". This word ultimately traces back to the Proto-Germanic word "rinnaną".
When "over" is combined with "running", the compound word "overrunning" is created.