over

¹

[ oh-ver ]

preposition

1. above in place or position:

   the roof over one's head.

2. above and to the other side of:

   to leap over a wall.

3. 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.

4. so as to rest on or cover; on or upon:

   Throw a sheet over the bed.

5. 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.

6. on or on top of:

   to hit someone over the head.

7. here and there on or in; about:

   at various places over the country.

8. through all parts of; all through:

   to roam over the estate; to show someone over the house.

9. to and fro on or in; across; throughout:

   to travel all over Europe.

10. from one side to the other of; to the other side of; across:

    to go over a bridge.

11. on the other side of; across:

    lands over the sea.

12. reaching higher than, so as to submerge:

    The water is over his shoulders.

13. in excess of; more than:

    over a mile; not over five dollars.

14. above in degree, quantity, etc.:

    a big improvement over last year's turnout.

15. in preference to:

    chosen over another applicant.

16. throughout the length of:

    The message was sent over a great distance.

17. until after the end of:

    to adjourn over the holidays.

18. throughout the duration of:

    over a long period of years.

19. in reference to, concerning, or about:

    to quarrel over a matter.

20. while engaged in or occupied with:

    to fall asleep over one's work.

21. via; by means of:

    He told me over the phone. I heard it over the radio.

adverb

1. beyond the top or upper surface or edge of something:

   a roof that hangs over.

2. so as to cover the surface, or affect the whole surface:

   The furniture was covered over with dust.

3. through a region, area, etc.:

   He was known the world over.

4. at some distance, as in a direction indicated:

   They live over by the hill.

5. from side to side; across; to the other side:

   to sail over.

6. across an intervening space:

   Toss the ball over, will you?

7. across or beyond the edge or rim:

   The soup boiled over. The bathtub ran over.

8. from beginning to end; throughout:

   to read a paper over; Think it over.

9. from one person, party, etc., to another:

   Hand the money over. He made the property over to his brother.

10. on the other side, as of a sea, a river, or any space:

    over in Japan.

11. so as to displace from an upright position:

    to knock over a glass of milk.

12. so as to put in the reversed position:

    She turned the bottle over. The dog rolled over.

13. once more; again:

    Do the work over.

14. in repetition or succession:

    twenty times over.

15. in excess or addition:

    to pay the full sum and something over.

16. in excess of or beyond a certain amount:

    Five goes into seven once, with two over.

17. throughout or beyond a period of time:

    to stay over till Monday.

18. to one's residence, office, or the like:

    Why don't you come over for lunch?

19. so as to reach a place across an intervening space, body of water, etc.:

    Her ancestors came over on the Mayflower.

adjective

1. upper; higher up.
2. higher in authority, station, etc.
3. serving, or intended to serve, as an outer covering; outer.
4. remaining or additional, surplus; extra.
5. too great; excessive (usually used in combination):

   Insufficient tact and overaggressiveness are two of his problems.

6. ended; done; past:

   when the war was over.

noun

1. an amount in excess or addition; extra.
2. Military. a shot that strikes or bursts beyond the target.
3. Cricket.
   1. the number of balls, usually six, delivered between successive changes of bowlers.
   2. the part of the game played between such changes.

verb (used with object)

1. to go or get over; leap over.
2. Southern U.S. to recover from.

interjection

1. (used in radio communications to signify that the sender has temporarily finished transmitting and is awaiting a reply or acknowledgment.) Compare out ( def 54 ).

over-

²

preposition

1. 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.

over

¹

/ ˈəʊvə /

preposition

1. directly above; on the top of; via the top or upper surface of

   over one's head

2. on or to the other side of

   over the river

3. during; through, or throughout (a period of time)
4. in or throughout all parts of

   to travel over England

5. throughout the whole extent of

   over the racecourse

6. above; in preference to

   I like that over everything else

7. by the agency of (an instrument of telecommunication)

   we heard it over the radio

8. more than

   over a century ago

9. on the subject of; about

   an argument over nothing

10. while occupied in

    discussing business over golf

11. having recovered from the effects of

    she's not over that last love affair yet

12. over and above
    added to; in addition to

    he earns a large amount over and above his salary

adverb

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

   to climb over

2. particle so as to cause to fall

   knocking over a policeman

3. at or to a point across intervening space, water, etc

   come over and see us

   over in America

4. throughout a whole area

   the world over

5. particle from beginning to end, usually cursorily

   to read a document over

6. throughout a period of time

   stay over for this week

7. (esp in signalling and radio) it is now your turn to speak, act, etc
8. more than is expected or usual

   not over well

9. over again
   once more
10. over against
    1. opposite to
    2. contrasting with
11. over and over
    often foll by again repeatedly
12. over the odds
    1. in addition, esp when not expected
    2. unfair or excessive

adjective

1. postpositive finished; no longer in progress

   is the concert over yet?

adverb

1. remaining; surplus (often in the phrase left over )

noun

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

over-

²

prefix

1. excessive or excessively; beyond an agreed or desirable limit

   overcharge

   oversimplify

   overdue

2. indicating superior rank

   overseer

3. indicating location or movement above

   overhang

4. indicating movement downwards

   overthrow

Word History and Origins

Origin of over¹

First recorded before 900; (adverb, preposition) Middle English; Old English ofer; cognate with Dutch over, German ober; (adjective) Middle English over(e), originally a variant of uver(e) (eastern dialect uver; love ), Old English ufera (akin to ofer ), assimilated to the adverb form; akin to Latin super, Greek hypér, Sanskrit upari. See up, hyper-

Origin of over²

Middle English; Old English ofer-. See over

Word History and Origins

Origin of over¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. all over with, ended; finished:

   It seemed miraculous that the feud was all over with.

2. all over,
   1. over the entire surface of; everywhere:

      material printed all over with a floral design.

   2. thoroughly; entirely:

      She's an inspiring model all over.

   3. finished:

      The war was all over and the soldiers came home.

3. over again, in repetition; once more:

   The director had the choir sing one passage over again.

4. over and above, in addition to; besides:

   a profit over and above what they had anticipated.

5. over and over, several times; repeatedly:

   They played the same record over and over.

6. 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.

7. over with, finished or done:

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

8. over against. against ( def 13 ).
9. over the hill. hill ( def 11 ).

More idioms and phrases containing over

• all over
• all over)
• bend over backward
• bind over
• blow over
• boil over
• bowl over
• carry over
• check on (over)
• chew the cud (over)
• cloud over
• come over
• cross over
• crow over
• cry over spilt milk
• do over
• draw a veil over
• drop by (over)
• fall all over
• fork over
• fuck over
• get over
• get the advantage of (over)
• give over
• gloss over
• go over
• hand over
• hand over fist
• hang over
• hash over
• have a hold over
• have it (all over someone)
• head over heels
• hold over
• honeymoon is over
• in deep water (over one's head)
• it's all over with
• jump all over
• keel over
• keep watch (over)
• kick over the traces
• knock for a loop (over with a feather)
• knock over
• lay over
• look like death (warmed over)
• look over
• lord it over
• lose sleep over
• make over
• mind over matter
• mull over
• once over lightly
• paper over
• party's over
• pass over
• pick over
• pull over
• pull the wool over someone's eyes
• put over
• rake over the coals
• ride roughshod over
• roll over
• roof over one's head
• run one's eyes over
• run over
• scoot over
• sign over
• sleep over
• smooth over
• stand over
• start over
• stop off (over)
• take over
• talk over
• think over
• throw over
• tide over
• till hell freezes over
• turn in (over) one's grave
• turn over
• turn over a new leaf
• walk all over
• watch over
• water over the dam
• win over
• work over

Example Sentences

Liam Payne’s former bandmates, family members and friends gathered Wednesday in England for the late singer’s funeral, just over a month after he died from a fall in Buenos Aires.

From Los Angeles Times

Matt Gaetz paid over $10,000 to two women who were witnesses in both the House and the Department of Justice investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct against him, according to a report from ABC News on Monday.

From Salon

In January 2019, both women received a payment for over $100 with the description “Travel,” which is around the same time Gaetz reportedly paid for two women to fly to New York for sex, ABC News reported earlier this week.

From Salon

This refrain underscores the growing partisan divide over the legislation’s priorities, with Republicans increasingly pushing for a focus on agriculture and rural development, while Democrats emphasize addressing food insecurity and expanding nutrition assistance programs.

From Salon

“While Senate Democrats waited until the last minute to take action, I’ve been fighting to put more ‘farm in the Farm Bill’ for well over a year now,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said in a statement.

From Salon

Related Words

• off
• upstairs

Words That Use over-

What does over- mean?

Over– is a prefix meaning “over,” particularly in the sense of “too much,” “over the limit,” or “over (in space).” It is often used in a variety of everyday terms.

Over– comes from Old English ofer-, meaning “over.” Cognates of ofer– in other languages include German über, as in Übermensch; Latin super, as in superego; and Greek hypér, as in hyperactive. Learn more at our entries for uber, super, and hyper.

Examples of over-

One example of a word that features the form over– is overdo, “to do to excess; overindulge in.” Overdo comes from Old English oferdōn, which features the equivalent of over– in that language.

The over– part of the word means “too much,” as we have seen. The –do portion of the word means “to perform,” from Old English dōn. Overdo literally means “to perform too much.”

What are some words that use the combining form over-?

• overboard (using the equivalent form of over– in Old English)
• overcoat
• overgrow (using the equivalent form of over– in Middle English)
• overhand
• overmatch (using the equivalent form of over– in Middle English)
• overnight (using the equivalent form of over– in Middle English)
• overpay
• overpower
• overrun (using the equivalent form of over– in Old English)

What are some other forms that over– may be commonly confused with?

• ov-
• ovi-
• ovo-

Not every word that begins with the exact letters over-, such as overt, is necessarily using the prefix over– to denote “too much.” Learn why overt means “open to view” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

Given the meaning of the prefix over-, what does overpay literally mean?