Overfall
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A turbulent section of a body of water, caused by strong currents passing over submerged ridges.
- 2 Part of a garment that hangs so as to cover a lower part.
- 1 To fall on or spill over so as to cover (something). transitive
"But her laugh stuck in her throat, for at that moment a shadow overfell the two houses"
- 2 To change or affect so as to pervade (something); to come over transitive
"From thence King Hakon proceeded up the Dovrefield; but as he was going over the mountains he road all day after a ptarmigan, which flew up beside him , and in this chase a sickness overfell him, which ended in his death ; and he died on the mountains."
- 3 To fall over; to spill from an edge or height. intransitive
"I had arrived at this conclusion, and was meditating on my possible conduct under the circumstances, as I groped my way gingerly enough in the dark shadow of a long crumbling wall, where the ivy clustered and overfell, when round a slight bend, obscured by straggling bushes , I came upon the most unexpected and picturesque sight imaginable – that of a gipsy camp."
- 4 To fall over; to topple. intransitive
"Then back-toppling, crashing back – a dead weight flung out to wrack, Horse and riders overfell."
Example
More examples"But her laugh stuck in her throat, for at that moment a shadow overfell the two houses"
Etymology
From Middle English overfallen, from Old English oferfeallan (“to fall upon, attack”), from Proto-West Germanic *obarfallan, *ubirfallan, from Proto-Germanic *ubirfallaną; equivalent to over- + fall. Cognate with Dutch overvallen (“to raid, overtake”), German überfallen (“to assault, attack, raid”), Swedish överfalla (“to attack”).
Related phrases
More for "overfall"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.