overrun

/ˈoʊvərˌrʌn/

Other forms: overran; overrunning; overruns

Overrun means being populated in huge numbers or occupied in some way. Your beautiful beach town may be peaceful in the winter but overrun by tourists every summer.

You can use this verb for a successful invading army: "The troops managed to overrun the entire peninsula, reclaiming the land they'd lost." It's also good for other kinds of invasions and infestations: "They closed my dog's daycare because it was overrun by fleas." The earliest meaning, still used today, was "continue beyond a specified time," like the class that overruns by fifteen minutes, making you very late to third-period math.

Definitions of overrun

1. verb

   seize the position of and defeat
   “the Crusaders overran much of the Holy Land”

   type of:

   defeat, get the better of, overcome

   win a victory over
2. verb

   occupy in large numbers or live on a host
   synonyms: infest, invade

   type of:

   inhabit

   be present in
3. verb

   invade in great numbers
   synonyms: infest

   type of:

   invade, occupy

   march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation
4. verb

   run beyond or past
   “The plane overran the runway”

   type of:

   overshoot

   aim too high
5. verb

   flow or run over (a limit or brim)
   synonyms: brim over, overflow, run over, well over

   types:

   geyser

   to overflow like a geyser

   type of:

   run out, spill

   flow, run or fall out and become lost
6. noun

   too much production or more than expected
   synonyms: overproduction

   type of:

   production

   (economics) manufacturing or mining or growing something (usually in large quantities) for sale