over

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See also: Over, över, Över, øver, over-, and över-

English

 over on Wikipedia

Alternative forms

  • o'er (adverb, preposition)

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈəʊ.və(ɹ)/
  • (US) enPR: ō'vər, IPA(key): /ˈoʊ.vɚ/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Audio (AU)(file)
  • Rhymes: -əʊvə(ɹ)
  • Hyphenation: o‧ver

Etymology 1

From Middle English over, from Old English ofer, from Proto-West Germanic *obar, from Proto-Germanic *uber (“over”), from Proto-Indo-European *upér, a comparative form of *upo.

Akin to Dutch over, German ober, über, Danish over, Norwegian over, Swedish över, Icelandic yfir, Faroese yvir, Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂 (ufar), Latin super, Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér), Albanian upri (“group of peasants”), Sanskrit उपरि (upári). Doublet of uber, super, and hyper.

Adjective

over (not comparable)

  1. Discontinued; ended or concluded.
    The show is over.
  2. (informal, of an ongoing situation) Hopeless; irrecoverable.
    It's too early to tell, but I think it's over.
  3. (professional wrestling slang) wrestler or faction that is popular with the audience.
Usage notes

Not normally used attributively (before a noun). (Attributive use occurs rarely in informal language, e.g. "an over relationship".)

"Over" as a first element in British place names can mean "upper" or "higher", apparently from Old English ufera or uferra.

Derived terms
Translations

Adverb

over (not comparable)

  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.
    • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond‎:
      During 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. (often in compounds) To an excessive degree; overly.
    • 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 12, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 158:
      She seemed a placid creature altogether - eminently respectable - perhaps not over intelligent.
  3. From an upright position to a horizontal one.
    He tipped the bottle over, and the water came gushing out.
    That building just fell over!
    He bent over to touch his toes.
  4. 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.
  5. From one side of something to another, passing above it.
    The fence is too high. I don't think I'll be able to get over.
  6. 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.
  7. Overnight (throughout the night).
    We stayed over at Grandma's.
    Can I sleep over?
  8. (US, usually with do) Again; another time; once more; over again.
    I lost my paper and I had to do the entire assignment over.
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

over (plural overs)

  1. (cricket) A set of six legal balls bowled.
    • 2019 July 14, Stephan Shemilt, “England win Cricket World Cup: Ben Stokes stars in dramatic finale against New Zealand”, in BBC Sport‎, London:
      In an emotional and electric atmosphere at Lord's, both sides scored 241 in their 50 overs and were level on 15 when they batted for an extra over apiece.
  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.
Translations

Preposition

over

  1. Expressing spatial relationship.
    1. On top of; above; higher than; further up.
      Hold the sign up over your head.
    2. Across or spanning.
      There is a bridge over the river.
      I looked out over the sea.
      • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter III, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
        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.
      • 1918, Dora Sigerson Shorter, Sick I Am and Sorrowful:
        If I saw the wild geese fly over the dark lakes of Kerry...
      • 2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–3:
        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 [the fence] first and then help you.
      Let's walk over the hill to get there.
  2. Expressing 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.
  3. Indicating relative status, authority, or power
    The owner's son lorded it over the experienced managers.
    The prince ruled over a portion of the kingdom.
  4. (mathematics) Divided by.
    Synonym: (uncommon) on
    Two over six equals one over three.
  5. (poker) Separates the three of a kind from the pair in a full house.
    9♦9♠9♣6♥6♠ = nines over sixes
  6. 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 [your annoyance with the referee's decision].
    She is finally over [the distress of] losing her job.
    He is finally over his [distress over the loss of the relationship with his] ex-girlfriend.
  7. While using, especially while consuming.
    • 1990, Seymour Chatman, Coming to Terms‎, Cornell, →ISBN, page 100:
      Six diners in business clothes—five attractive young women and a balding middle-aged man—relax over cigarettes.
    • 1998, Marian Swerdlow, Underground Woman‎, Temple, →ISBN, page 88:
      Sunday had been my favorite day at Woodlawn. A long W.A.A. [="work as assigned" period], having coffee and croissants with Mark over the Sunday Times.
    • 2009, Sara Pennypacker, The Great Egyptian Grave Robbery, Scholastic, →ISBN, page 79:
      Over meatloaf and mashed potatoes (being careful not to talk with his mouth full), Stanley told about his adventure.
  8. Concerning or regarding.
    The two boys had a fight over whose girlfriend was the best.
    • 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
      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.
  9. 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 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.

Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Interjection

over

  1. (procedure word, military) 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.
    Bravo Six Four, this is Bravo Six Actual. Send your traffic, over.
    How do you receive? Over!
  2. (obsolete, slang) Short for over the left shoulder (“expressing disbelief etc.”).
Coordinate terms
  • (radio procedure word): out
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

over (third-person singular simple present overs, present participle overing, simple past and past participle overed)

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

References

  • Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The semantic network for over", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8

Etymology 2

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

over (plural overs)

  1. (rare, dialectal or obsolete) A shore, riverbank.
    The sea's over.
    • 1338, Robert Mannyng, Mannyng's Chronicle:
      Cassibola was ready at Dover, & renged (encamped) his men by the over.
Usage notes

Now mostly found in place names, as in Westover or Overton, Hampshire (a town built on the River Test). Fell out of use in the 16th century.

References

Anagrams

Chinese

Etymology

From English over. Compare Japanese オーバー (ōbā).

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!
Particularly: “Mandarin”

Adjective

over

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, Taiwanese Mandarin) over the top; extreme; overdone

Verb

over

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, Taiwanese Mandarin) to go too far; to exceed; to go overboard
  2. (Taiwanese Mandarin) to game over; to fail

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse yfir.

Preposition

over

  1. above
    Skyer hænger over byen.
    Clouds hang above the city.
  2. past an hour
    Klokken er fjorten minutter over sytten.
    It's fourteen minutes past five p.m.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse ofar.

Adverb

over

  1. across
    Han kom over grænsen.
    He got across the border.
  2. asunder; in two
    Vil du skære bollen over? ― Would you cut the bun in two?

Etymology 3

Shortening of overkrydder.

Noun

over c (singular definite overen, plural indefinite overe)

  1. (informal) The upper curved portion of a roll or a similar food.
    Jeg foretrækker overen.
    I prefer the top slice.
Inflection
Declension of over
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative over overen overe overne
genitive overs overens overes overnes
Antonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 4

Borrowed from English over.

Noun

over c (singular definite overen, plural indefinite overe or overs)

  1. (cricket) A set of six legal balls bowled, an over.
Inflection
Declension of over
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative over overen overe
overs 		overne
genitive overs overens overes
overs' 		overnes

References

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch ōver, from Old Dutch *ovar, from Proto-West Germanic *obar, from Proto-Germanic *uber, from Proto-Indo-European *upér, from *upo. Compare German ober, English over.

Pronunciation

Adverb

over

  1. over, above
  2. (postpositional) over (implying motion)
    Kijk uit, er steekt een hond de straat over.
    Look out, a dog is crossing over the street.
  3. remaining, left over
    Na het feest was er bijna geen eten meer over.
    After the party there was barely any food remaining.
  4. passing by, going away
    De pijn gaat weer over.
    The pain is going away again.
  5. Denotes an imitative action, again, once again
    Ik schrijf je brief over.
    I will transcribe your letter.

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of "over"): onder

Derived terms

nouns

adjectives

verbs

Related terms

Descendants

  • → Indonesian: oper

Preposition

over

  1. over
  2. about, concerning

Inflection

Pronominal adverbs of over
preposition over
postpositional adv. over
+ het (it) erover
+ dit (this) hierover
+ dat (that) daarover
+ wat (what) waarover
+ iets (something) ergens over
+ niets (nothing) nergens over
+ alles (everything) overal over

Derived terms

Descendants

Interjection

over

  1. (procedure word, military) over (a radio procedure word meaning that the station is finished with its transmission and is expecting a response.)

Derived terms

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

over

  1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of ovō

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch over, from Proto-West Germanic *obar.

Pronunciation

Preposition

ōver

  1. over, above
    Antonym: onder
  2. across
  3. towards
  4. during
  5. ago, some duration in the past
  6. after, following (a duration)
  7. about, concerning
  8. due to, because of

Descendants

Adverb

ōver

  1. over
  2. across, on the other side
  3. plenty, more than enough
  4. used up, finished
  5. once again

Descendants

Further reading

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English ofer, from Proto-West Germanic *obar.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɔːvər/, /ˈɔvər/

Preposition

over

  1. above

Descendants

References

Middle Low German

Etymology

From Old Saxon ovar, from Proto-West Germanic *obar, from Proto-Germanic *uber, and Old Saxon *uvir from Proto-Germanic *ubiri.

Pronunciation

  • Stem vowel: ō² or ȫ¹ or ȫ²
    • (originally) IPA(key): /ʊɒvər/, /ʏəvər/, /ʏœvər/

Preposition

ōver or ȫver

  1. (accusative) across, moving through or over something
    over dat rode mêr - across the Red Sea
  2. (accusative) across, moving to the other side of something
  3. (accusative) in, across, describing the spread of something
    over alle lant - all across the lands / in every land
  4. (dative) across, situated on the other side of
    over deme watere - across the water
  5. (dative) while, over the duration of
    over deme werke begripen - while working on something
  6. (dative) over, at, on, on top of, describing where something is situated; does not mean above
    over deme dische - at the table

Usage notes

It is not clear whether the umlaut was connected with semantic differences.

Alternative forms

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of "over"): under

Adverb

ōver or ȫver

  1. across, on the other side
  2. while
  3. on top of, additionally
  4. over (finished, ceased)

Usage notes

It is not clear whether the umlaut was connected with semantic differences.

Alternative forms

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of "over"): under

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse yfir.

Pronunciation

Preposition

over

  1. above
  2. past
  3. over; more than

Adverb

over

  1. over
  2. across

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse yfir.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈoːʋɛr/, /ˈoːʋər/

Preposition

over

  1. above
  2. past
  3. over; more than

Adverb

over

  1. over
  2. across

Derived terms

References

Zazaki

Pronoun

over

  1. opposite
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