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Over

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over¹

  • /ˈəʊ̯.və/ UK
  • /ˈaʊæː/ Northumbria
  • /ˈoː.və/ Wales
  • /ˈəʉ̯.və/ Australia
  • /ˈɐʉ̯.və/ New Zealand
  • /ˈoʊ̯.vɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
  • [ˈoːvɚ]
  • /ˈo.vəɾ/ Scotland

Rhymes with -əʊvə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *úp

Proto-Indo-European *-er

Proto-Indo-European *upér

Proto-Germanic *uber

Proto-West Germanic *obar

Old English ofer

Middle English over

English over

From Middle English over, from Old English ofer, ofor, ouer, from Proto-West Germanic *obar, from Proto-Germanic *uber (“over”), from Proto-Indo-European *upér (“above; over”).

Cognates

Cognate with Scots ower (“over”), Yola oer, ower, owr (“over”), Saterland Frisian uur (“over”), West Frisian oer (“over, across”), Cimbrian übar (“over”), Dutch over (“over”), German ober, über, ueber (“over, above”), Limburgish euver, övver (“over”), Low German över, üöver (“over”), Luxembourgish iwwer (“over”), Mòcheno iber (“over”), Yiddish איבער (iber, “over”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål over (“over”), Elfdalian yvyr (“over”), Faroese yvir (“over”), Icelandic yfir (“over”), Norwegian Nynorsk over, yver, yvi (“over”), Swedish över (“over”), Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar, “over”); also Breton and Cornish war (“on, over”), Irish ar (“on”), Manx er (“on”), Scottish Gaelic air (“on, upon”), Latin super (“above, over”), Ancient Greek ῠ̔πείρ (hŭpeír), ὑπέρ (hupér), ῠ̔́περ (hŭ́per, “above, over”), Albanian epër (“above, high, overhead, up, upward”), Armenian վեր (ver, “up”), Avestan 𐬎𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌 (upaⁱri, “above, over”), Persian بر (bar, “on; onto; upon”), Sanskrit उपरि (upari, “above, over”).

Doublet of uber, super, and hyper.

adjective o'er · ower · ouer · ovuh

  1. not comparable Finished; ended; concluded. The show isn't over until the fat lady sings.
  2. not comparable Of a flower: wilting or withering.
  3. informal, not comparable Hopeless; irrecoverable. We're keeping our marriage going for the sake of the kids, but really it's over.
  4. informal, not comparable Visiting one's home or other location. My sister's over for the week.
  5. not comparable Having surmounted an obstacle. The horse struggled at that fence, but it's over.
  6. informal, not comparable Having an excess in a particular respect. This steak is well over. (overcooked)
  7. not comparable Surplus to requirements. I made 20 cakes, but I only need 18, so there are two over.
  8. not comparable, slang Of a wrestler: generating a reaction from fans.

adverb o'er · ower · ouer · ovuh

  1. not comparable From one position or location to another, horizontally or approximately so, or along a route visualised as "across". That vase isn't exactly central. Could you move it over a couple of inches?
  2. not comparable Across from one side of something to the other. I need to cross the river. Can you take me over in your boat?
  3. not comparable So as to pass above. I looked up just as a helicopter flew over.
  4. not comparable Up one side of something, across, and then down the other side. The fence is too high. I don't think I'll be able to get over.
  5. not comparable Across something, such as an edge, and then downwards. The car rolled to the edge of the cliff and went straight over.
  6. not comparable From an upright position to a horizontal one. He tipped the bottle over, and the water came gushing out.
  7. not comparable So as to fold towards or onto itself. Bend the end of that wire over to make a hook.
  8. not comparable On top of something, or so as to cover something. Paint it over with a darker colour.
  9. not comparable So as to reverse up/down orientation, or otherwise change orientation by rotating. Put the card face down, and don't turn it over until I say so.
  10. not comparable So as to reverse or exchange position(s). Swap those cables over. The red one should be in the left socket.
  11. not comparable Expressing figurative movement from one position or state across to another. He came over to our way of thinking on the new project.
  12. not comparable Indicating a direction or location away from the speaker, usually roughly horizontally or visualised as such. I'll see you over at the club.
  13. not comparable Thoroughly; completely; from beginning to end. Let's talk over the project at tomorrow's meeting.
  14. in compounds, not comparable, often To a high or excessive degree; overly; see also over-. I'm not over bothered about going to the party.
  15. not comparable Beyond or in excess of what is correct or expected. The show ran ten minutes over.
  16. not comparable To a future time. Carry the shortfall over and we'll make it up tomorrow.
  17. not comparable Overnight (throughout the night). We missed the last bus home so we stayed over.
  18. US, not comparable, usually Again; another time; once more; over again. I lost my paper and I had to do the entire assignment over.
  19. not comparable Used for rhetorical effect to reinforce that something was done the stated number of times. I said the magic word three times over, and the secret door slid open.
  20. not comparable See also individual entries for phrasal verbs: go over, hand over, run over, take over, win over, etc.

noun overs · o'er · ower · ouer · ovuh

  1. A set of six legal balls bowled. Jones hit four boundaries in the first over.
  2. Any surplus amount of money, goods delivered, etc. […] standard cash count forms used to record the count and any overs or unders.
  3. informal Something having an excess of a particular property. I went fishing but caught mostly overs.
  4. A bet that a particular sporting statistic, such as points scored in a game, will be above a certain stated value.

preposition o'er · ower · ouer · ovuh

  1. Above; higher than; further up than. Hold the sign up over your head.
  2. Across, from one side to the other. The guide took us over the border.
  3. Across, so as to pass above. The vulture flew over the desert.
  4. Through or around all the parts of. The estate agent showed me over the property.
  5. On the other side of. He lives over the road from me.
  6. informal At or near (a location seen as 'across' from the speaker's location). There was a big fire over the other side of town.
  7. 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.
  8. Across (something) and then downwards. The car drove straight over the edge of the cliff.
  9. On top of; in such a way as to cover. Drape the fabric over the table.
  10. More than (a given value, amount, limit etc.); beyond; past; exceeding. He is over a hundred years old.
  11. To a greater degree than. I prefer the purple over the pink.
  12. As compared to. Sales are down this quarter over last.
  13. During or throughout (a time period). He's got grumpier over the years.
  14. Through or via (a particular transmission medium). A stern voice boomed over the loudspeaker.
  15. Indicating relative status, authority, or power. The owner's son lorded it over the experienced managers.
  16. In a position of having overcome (a problem or issue); past; finished 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.
  17. While doing an activity involving (something), especially while consuming. We had a chat over dinner.
  18. Concerning or regarding. The two boys had a fight over whose girlfriend was the best.
  19. Above, implying superiority after a contest; in spite of; notwithstanding. We triumphed over difficulties.
  20. Expressing causation: due to, as the result of. He was fired over that.
  21. Divided by. Two over six equals one over three.
  22. Separates the three of a kind from the pair in a full house. 9♦9♠9♣6♥6♠ = nines over sixes
  23. Separates the primary chord of a slash chord from the bass note.

interjection o'er · ower · ouer · ovuh

  1. A radio procedure word meaning that the station is finished with its transmission and is expecting a response. Bravo Six, this is Bravo Six Four. Stand by for ten mike report one dash three, over.
  2. Instructs the reader to turn the page and continue reading the other side.
  3. abbreviation, ellipsis, obsolete, slang Ellipsis of over the left shoulder (“expressing disbelief etc.”).over the left shoulder

verb overs · overing · overed · o'er · ower

  1. UK, dialectal, obsolete, transitive To go over, or jump over. He overed the fence in good style.
  2. UK, dialectal, intransitive, obsolete To run about. The cattle have been overing all day because of the flies.

over²

  • /ˈəʊ̯.və/ UK
  • /ˈaʊæː/ Northumbria
  • /ˈoː.və/ Wales
  • /ˈəʉ̯.və/ Australia
  • /ˈɐʉ̯.və/ New Zealand
  • /ˈoʊ̯.vɚ/ Canadian, US, Standard
  • [ˈoːvɚ]
  • /ˈo.vəɾ/ Scotland

Rhymes with -əʊvə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English over (“riverbank, seashore, brink”), from Old English ōfer (“riverbank, seashore, brink, edge, margin, border”), from Proto-Germanic *ōferaz. Cognate with Dutch oever (“riverbank, shore”), German Ufer (“shore, shoreline, riverbank”), Low German Över (“shore, riverbank”).

noun overs · o'er · ower · ouer · ovuh

  1. dialectal, obsolete, rare A shore, riverbank. The sea's over.

Over³

proper noun

  1. A village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire district, Cambridgeshire, England (OS grid ref TL3770).
  2. A suburban area in Winsford, Cheshire West and Chester district, Cheshire, England (OS grid ref SJ6366).
  3. A hamlet in Almondsbury parish, South Gloucestershire district, Gloucestershire, England (OS grid ref ST5882)
  4. A hamlet near Gloucester in Highnam parish, Tewkesbury district, Gloucestershire (OS grid ref SO8119).
  5. A village in Seevetal, Lower Saxony, Germany.

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