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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, att-tude, 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, quant-ty, 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.
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 sp-ce:
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 sp-ce:
over in j-pan.
so as to displace from an upright position:
to knock over a gl-ss 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 repet-tion 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 sp-ce, body of water, etc.: her ancestors came over on the mayflower.
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.
an amount in excess or addition; extra.
military. a shot that strikes or bursts beyond the target.
cricket.

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

to go or get over; leap over.
southern u.s. to recover from.
(used in radio communications to signify that the sender has temporarily finished transmitting and is awaiting a reply or acknowledgment.)
compare (def 53).
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 repet-tion; once more:
the director had the choir sing one p-ssage over again.
over against. (def 13).
over and above, in addition to; besides:
a profit over and above what they had antic-p-ted.
over and over, several times; repeatedly:
they played the same record over and over.
over the 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.
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 sp-ce, 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 doc-ment 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

(often foll by again) over and over, 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 b-lls bowled by a bowler from the same end of the pitch
the play during this

prep.

old english ofer “beyond, above, upon, in, across, past; on high,” from proto-germanic -uberi (cf. old saxon obar, old frisian over, old norse yfir, old high german ubar, german über, gothic ufar “over, above”), from pie -uper (see super-). as an adjective from old english uffera. as an adverb from late old english. sense of “finished” is attested from late 14c. meaning “recovered from” is from 1929. in radio communication, used to indicate the speaker has finished speaking (1926). adjective phrase over-the-counter is attested from 1875, originally of stocks and shares.

related terms

the once-over
see: all over , def. 3; it’s all over with

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 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
f-ck 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
p-ss 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 h-ll 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