desbordar
transitive verb
1 (rebosar)
la lluvia ha desbordado el río the rain has caused the river to burst its banks o to overflow; la leche estuvo a punto de desbordar el cazo the milk nearly boiled over
han desbordado la centralita con tantas llamadas the switchboard has been inundated o overwhelmed with calls
2 (exceder) [+límite, previsiones] to exceed; [+persona, tolerancia] to be beyond; be too much for
los beneficios han desbordado todas nuestras previsiones profits have exceeded all our forecasts
su fama ha desbordado las fronteras de este país her fame has spread far beyond this country
el trabajo me desborda the work is just too much for me
3 [+energía, entusiasmo] to be brimming (over) with
desborda alegría y buen humor he's brimming (over) with happiness and good humour
pronominal verb
desbordarse1 (rebosar) [+lavabo, río] to overflow; [+líquido] to overflow; spill (over)
con el deshielo se ha desbordado el cauce del río with the thaw the river has burst its banks o overflowed
se desbordó la espuma de la cerveza the froth on the beer overflowed o spilled over
desbordarse de algo to be overflowing with sth; el cajón se desbordaba de cartas the drawer was overflowing with letters
desbordarse fuera de [+epidemia, guerra] to spread beyond
la guerra se ha desbordado fuera de nuestras fronteras the war has spread beyond our borders