Over

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈəʊ.vÉ™(ɹ)/
• US IPA: /ˈoÊŠ.vÉš/
• Rhymes: -əʊvÉ™(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: o + ver

Origin

From Old English ofer, from Proto-Germanic *uber, from Proto-Indo-European *upér-, a comparative form of *upo; akin to Dutch over, German ober, über, Old High German ubir, ubar, Danish over, Swedish över, Icelandic yfir, Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂, Latin super, Ancient Greek ὑπέρ, Albanian epër ("superior"), Sanskrit उपरि.

Full definition of over

Adjective

1. Finished; ended or concluded.The show is over.

Adverb

1. Thoroughly; completely; from beginning to end.
   Let's talk over the project at tomorrow's meeting.
   Let me think that over.
   I'm going to look over our department's expenses.
   Let's go over scene 3 from the top.
• 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. HammondDuring the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant...
2. From an upright position to being horizontal.
   He tipped the bottle over, and the water came gushing out.
   That building just fell over!
   He bent over to touch his toes.
3. Horizontally; left to right or right to left.
   Slide the toilet-paper dispenser's door over when one roll is empty in order to reveal the other.
   I moved over to make room for him to sit down.
4. From one position or state to another.
   Please pass that over to me.
   He came over to our way of thinking on the new project.
   Come over and play!
   I'll bring over a pizza.
5. Overnight (throughout the night).
   We stayed over at Grandma's.
   Can I sleep over?
6. (US, usually with do) Again; another time; once more; over again.
   I lost my paper and I had to do the entire assignment over.

Noun

1. (cricket) A set of six legal balls bowled.
2. Any surplus amount of money, goods delivered, etc.
• 2008, G. Puttick, Sandy van Esch, The Principles and Practice of Auditing (page 609)...standard cash count forms used to record the count and any overs or unders.

Preposition

1. Physical positioning.
1. On top of; above; higher than; further up.
   Hold the sign up over your head.   climb up the ladder and look over roof
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)Over them gleamed far off the crimson banners of morning.
• 2013, Henry Petroski, The Evolution of Eyeglasses, The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone,.... Scribes, illuminators, and scholars held such stones directly over manuscript pages as an aid in seeing what was being written, drawn, or read.
2. Across or spanning.
   There is a bridge over the river.
• Francis Bacon (1561-1626)Certain lakes...poison birds which fly over them.
• 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 3, My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.
• 2013-06-29, A punch in the gut, Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.
3. In such a way as to cover.
   drape the fabric over the table;  there is a roof over the house
4. From one physical position to another via an obstacle that must be traversed vertically, first upwards and then downwards.
   The dog jumped over the fence.
   I'll go over fence first and then help you.
   Let's walk over the hill to get there.
5. By comparison.
1. More than; to a greater degree.
   I prefer the purple over the pink.
2. Beyond; past; exceeding; too much or too far.
   I think I’m over my limit for calories for today.
3. (in certain collocations) As compared to.
   Sales are down this quarter over last.
6. (mathematics) Divided by.
   four over two equals two over one
7. Finished with; done with; from one state to another via a hindrance that must be solved or defeated; or via a third state that represents a significant difference from the first two.
   We got over the engineering problems and the prototype works great.
   I am over my cold and feel great again.
   I know the referee made a bad call, but you have to get over it annoyance with the referee's decision.
   She is finally over distress of losing her job.
   He is finally over his over the loss of the relationship with his ex-girlfriend.
8. While using, especially while consuming.
• 1990, Seymour Chatman, Coming to Terms, Cornell University Press, ISBN 0801497361, page 100http://books.google.com/books?id=loD1JXOtmTYC&pg=PA100&dq=relax:Six diners in business clothes—five attractive young women and a balding middle-aged man—relax over cigarettes.
• 1998, Marian Swerdlow, Underground Woman, Temple University Press, ISBN 1566396107, page 88 http://books.google.com/books?id=jIK3DGkOwYkC&pg=PA88&dq=croissants:Sunday had been my favorite day at Woodlawn. A long W.A.A. as assigned" period, having coffee and croissants with Mark over the Sunday Times.
• 2009, Sara Pennypacker, The Great Egyptian Grave Robbery, Scholastic Corporation, ISBN 9780545207867, page 79:Over meatloaf and mashed potatoes (being careful not to talk with his mouth full), Stanley told about his adventure.
9. Concerning or regarding.
   The two boys had a fight over whose girlfriend was the best.
• 2013-08-10, Can China clean up fast enough?, It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits.
10. Above, implying superiority after a contest; in spite of; notwithstanding.
    We triumphed over difficulties.
    The bill was passed over the veto.
    It was a fine victory over their opponents.

Usage notes

When used in the context of "from one location to another", over implies that the two places are at approximately the same height or the height difference is not relevant. For example, if two offices are on the same floor of a building, an office worker might say I'll bring that over for you, while if the offices were on different floors, the sentence would likely be I'll bring that up down for you. However, distances are not constrained, e.g. He came over from England last year and now lives in Los Angeles or I moved the stapler over to the other side of my desk.

Interjection

1. In radio communications: end of sentence, ready to receive reply.How do you receive? Over!

Related terms

Anagrams

• rove, vore