Definition
A prepared or stabilized surface beyond the departure end of a runway, intended to provide additional room for an aircraft that cannot stop on the remaining runway during a rejected takeoff or landing rollout. The overrun area is not part of the usable runway for takeoff or landing performance calculations, but it offers a safer surface than unprepared terrain if the airplane runs off the end.
Plain English
An extra strip of ground past the end of the runway, designed to give an airplane more room to stop if it can't slow down in time.
Context Anchor
You will see this term when evaluating stopping distance during a rejected takeoff, especially during pre-takeoff planning and runway selection.
Derivation
From 'overrun' -- to run past or beyond a limit. The area is literally the ground reserved for an aircraft that has run past the end of the runway.
Why Pilots Care
Provides a designed deceleration zone that reduces the chance of aircraft damage or runway excursion during a high-speed abort.
Intuition Check
An overrun area is not part of the normal runway you plan to use for takeoff. It is space beyond the runway end that may reduce harm if the airplane cannot stop in time.
Example Sentence 1
After aborting the takeoff at high speed, the airplane came to a stop in the overrun area just past the runway end.
Example Sentence 2
The runway's overrun area gave the crew the extra distance needed after the abort decision was made at high speed.