over

[ oh-ver ]

/ ˈoʊ vər /

preposition

above in place or position: the roof over one's head.

above and to the other side of: to leap over a wall.

above in authority, rank, power, etc., so as to govern, control, or have jurisdiction regarding: There is no one over her in the department now.

so as to rest on or cover; on or upon: Throw a sheet over the bed.

on or upon, so as to cause an apparent change in one's mood, attitude, etc.: I can't imagine what has come over her.

on or on top of: to hit someone over the head.

here and there on or in; about: at various places over the country.

through all parts of; all through: to roam over the estate; to show someone over the house.

to and fro on or in; across; throughout: to travel all over Europe.

from one side to the other of; to the other side of; across: to go over a bridge.

on the other side of; across: lands over the sea.

reaching higher than, so as to submerge: The water is over his shoulders.

in excess of; more than: over a mile; not over five dollars.

above in degree, quantity, etc.: a big improvement over last year's turnout.

in preference to: chosen over another applicant.

throughout the length of: The message was sent over a great distance.

until after the end of: to adjourn over the holidays.

throughout the duration of: over a long period of years.

in reference to, concerning, or about: to quarrel over a matter.

while engaged in or occupied with: to fall asleep over one's work.

via; by means of: He told me over the phone. I heard it over the radio.

adverb

beyond the top or upper surface or edge of something: a roof that hangs over.

so as to cover the surface, or affect the whole surface: The furniture was covered over with dust.

through a region, area, etc.: He was known the world over.

at some distance, as in a direction indicated: They live over by the hill.

from side to side; across; to the other side: to sail over.

across an intervening space: Toss the ball over, will you?

across or beyond the edge or rim: The soup boiled over. The bathtub ran over.

from beginning to end; throughout: to read a paper over; Think it over.

from one person, party, etc., to another: Hand the money over. He made the property over to his brother.

on the other side, as of a sea, a river, or any space: over in Japan.

so as to displace from an upright position: to knock over a glass of milk.

so as to put in the reversed position: She turned the bottle over. The dog rolled over.

once more; again: Do the work over.

in repetition or succession: twenty times over.

in excess or addition: to pay the full sum and something over.

in excess of or beyond a certain amount: Five goes into seven once, with two over.

throughout or beyond a period of time: to stay over till Monday.

to one's residence, office, or the like: Why don't you come over for lunch?

so as to reach a place across an intervening space, body of water, etc.: Her ancestors came over on the Mayflower

adjective

upper; higher up.

higher in authority, station, etc.

serving, or intended to serve, as an outer covering; outer.

remaining or additional, surplus; extra.

too great; excessive (usually used in combination): Insufficient tact and overaggressiveness are two of his problems.

ended; done; past: when the war was over.

noun

an amount in excess or addition; extra.

Military. a shot that strikes or bursts beyond the target.

Cricket.

the number of balls, usually six, delivered between successive changes of bowlers.
the part of the game played between such changes.

verb (used with object)

to go or get over; leap over.

Southern U.S. to recover from.

interjection

(used in radio communications to signify that the sender has temporarily finished transmitting and is awaiting a reply or acknowledgment.) Compare out(def 53).

Idioms for over

all over,

over the entire surface of; everywhere: material printed all over with a floral design.
thoroughly; entirely.
finished: The war was all over and the soldiers came home.

all over with, ended; finished: It seemed miraculous that the feud was all over with.

over again, in repetition; once more: The director had the choir sing one passage over again.

over against. against(def 13).

over and above, in addition to; besides: a profit over and above what they had anticipated.

over and over, several times; repeatedly: They played the same record over and over.

over the hill. hill(def 11).

over there, Informal. (in the U.S. during and after World War I) in or to Europe: Many of the boys who went over there never came back.

over with, finished or done: Let's get this thing over with, so that we don't have to worry about it any more.

Origin of over

before 900; (adv., preposition) Middle English; Old English ofer; cognate with Dutch over, German ober; (adj.) Middle English over(e), orig. variant of uver(e) (E dial. uver; cf. love), Old English ufera (akin to ofer), assimilated to the adv. form; akin to Latin super, Greek hypér, Sanskrit upari. See up, hyper-

Words nearby over

ovenable, ovenbird, ovenproof, ovenware, ovenwood, over, over a barrel, over again, over against, over and above, over and done with

Definition for over (2 of 2)

over-

a prefixal use of over, preposition, adverb, or adjective, occurring in various senses in compounds (overboard; overcoat; overhang; overlap; overlord; overrun; overthrow), and especially employed, with the sense of “over the limit,” “to excess,” “too much,” “too,” to form verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and nouns (overact; overcapitalize; overcrowd; overfull; overmuch; oversupply; overweight), and many others, mostly self-explanatory: a hyphen, which is commonly absent from old or well-established formations, is sometimes used in new coinages or in any words whose component parts it may be desirable to set off distinctly.

Origin of over-

Middle English; Old English ofer-. See over

Example sentences from the Web for over

Obsessive exercising and inadequate nutrition can, over time, put people at high risk for overuse injuries like stress fractures.

How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models |Carrie Arnold |January 8, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Offending the other ones has been a central strategy for Paul over the last year.

Rand Paul’s Passive-Aggressive Trolling Campaign |Olivia Nuzzi |January 6, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Instead, spa hotels filled up with over 30,000 refugees from the war-troubled Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Is Putin Turning to Terrorism in Ukraine? |Anna Nemtsova |January 6, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Actually, the guessing game is over; the weddings have begun, as have weird attempts to circumvent our constitutional democracy.

The Back Alley, Low Blow-Ridden Fight to Stop Gay Marriage in Florida Is Finally Over |Jay Michaelson |January 5, 2015 |DAILY BEAST

“Stay in formation,” a sergeant from the ceremonial unit said over a public address system to the cops along the street.

Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss |Michael Daly |January 5, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
This is all that was said between them on the subject, and, immediately the meal was over, they retired to their rooms.

Halcyone |Elinor Glyn
Over in her corner, between young Billings and the interloper, Stuart, Sue was having a beautiful time.

Blue Bonnet in Boston |Caroline E. Jacobs
The Bishop of Tronyem over the ankles in the sodden, trodden pasture—sticking in the mud of Sulitelma!

Feats on the Fiord |Harriet Martineau
Alf—that is my old man—he gets quite aggravated with me over it.

Sinister Street, vol. 2 |Compton Mackenzie
As resident physician for over fifteen years, I had learned patience in these matters.

Unbegotten Child |Winston Marks

British Dictionary definitions for over (1 of 2)

over

/ (ˈəʊvə) /

preposition

directly above; on the top of; via the top or upper surface of over one's head

on or to the other side of over the river

during; through, or throughout (a period of time)

in or throughout all parts of to travel over England

throughout the whole extent of over the racecourse

above; in preference to I like that over everything else

by the agency of (an instrument of telecommunication) we heard it over the radio

more than over a century ago

on the subject of; about an argument over nothing

while occupied in discussing business over golf

having recovered from the effects of she's not over that last love affair yet

over and above added to; in addition to he earns a large amount over and above his salary

adverb

in a state, condition, situation, or position that is or has been placed or put over something to climb over

(particle) so as to cause to fall knocking over a policeman

at or to a point across intervening space, water, etc come over and see us; over in America

throughout a whole area the world over

(particle) from beginning to end, usually cursorily to read a document over

throughout a period of time stay over for this week

(esp in signalling and radio) it is now your turn to speak, act, etc

more than is expected or usual not over well

over again once more

over against

opposite to
contrasting with

over and over (often foll by again) repeatedly

over the odds

in addition, esp when not expected
unfair or excessive

adjective

(postpositive) finished; no longer in progress is the concert over yet?

adverb, adjective

remaining; surplus (often in the phrase left over)

noun

cricket

a series of six balls bowled by a bowler from the same end of the pitch
the play during this

Word Origin for over

Old English ofer; related to Old High German ubir, obar, Old Norse yfir, Latin super, Greek huper

British Dictionary definitions for over (2 of 2)

over-

prefix

excessive or excessively; beyond an agreed or desirable limit overcharge; overdue; oversimplify

indicating superior rank overseer

indicating location or movement above overhang

indicating movement downwards overthrow

Idioms and Phrases with over

over

In addition to the idioms beginning with over

over a barrel
over again
over against
over and above
over and done with
over and over
over my dead body
over one's head
over the edge
over the hill
over the hump
over the top
over with

also see:

all over

(and entries beginning with all over)bend over backwardbind overblow overboil overbowl overcarry overcheck on (over)chew the cud (over)cloud overcome overcross overcrow overcry over spilt milkdo overdraw a veil overdrop by (over)fall all overfork overfuck overget overget the advantage of (over)give overgloss overgo overhand overhand over fisthang overhash overhave a hold overhave it (all over someone)head over heelshold overhoneymoon is overin deep water (over one's head)it's all over withjump all overkeel overkeep watch (over)kick over the tracesknock for a loop (over with a feather)knock overlay overlook like death (warmed over)look overlord it overlose sleep overmake overmind over mattermull overonce over lightlypaper overparty's overpass overpick overpull overpull the wool over someone's eyesput overrake over the coalsride roughshod overroll overroof over one's headrun one's eyes overrun overscoot oversign oversleep oversmooth overstand overstart overstop off (over)take overtalk overthink overthrow overtide overtill hell freezes overturn in (over) one's graveturn overturn over a new leafwalk all overwatch overwater over the damwin overwork over.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

over

preposition

adverb

adjective

noun

verb (used with object)

interjection

Idioms for over

Origin of over

Words nearby over

Definition for over (2 of 2)

Origin of over-

Example sentences from the Web for over

British Dictionary definitions for over (1 of 2)

preposition

adverb

adjective

adverb, adjective

noun

Word Origin for over

British Dictionary definitions for over (2 of 2)

prefix

Idioms and Phrases with over

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

over

preposition

adverb

adjective

noun

verb (used with object)

interjection

Idioms for over

Origin of over

Words nearby over

Definition for over (2 of 2)

Origin of over-

Words related to over

Example sentences from the Web for over

British Dictionary definitions for over (1 of 2)

preposition

adverb

adjective

adverb, adjective

noun

Word Origin for over

British Dictionary definitions for over (2 of 2)

prefix

Idioms and Phrases with over