Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • preposition In or at a position above or higher than.
  • preposition Above and across from one end or side to the other.
  • preposition To the other side of; across.
  • preposition Across the edge of and down.
  • preposition On the other side of.
  • preposition Upon the surface of.
  • preposition On top of or down upon.
  • preposition Through the extent of; all through.
  • preposition Through the medium of; via.
  • preposition So as to cover.
  • preposition Up to or higher than the level or height of.
  • preposition Through the period or duration of.
  • preposition Until or beyond the end of.
  • preposition More than in degree, quantity, or extent.
  • preposition In superiority to.
  • preposition In preference to.
  • preposition In a position to rule or control.
  • preposition So as to have an effect or influence on.
  • preposition While occupied with or engaged in.
  • preposition With reference to; concerning.
  • adverb Above the top or surface.
  • adverb Across to another or opposite side.
  • adverb Across the edge, brink, or brim.
  • adverb Across an intervening space.
  • adverb Across a distance in a particular direction or at a location.
  • adverb To another often specified place or position.
  • adverb To one's place of residence or business.
  • adverb Throughout an entire area or region.
  • adverb To a different opinion or allegiance.
  • adverb So as to be comprehensible, acceptable, or effective; across.
  • adverb To a different person, condition, or title.
  • adverb So as to be completely enclosed or covered.
  • adverb Completely through; from beginning to end.
  • adverb From an upright position.
  • adverb From an upward position to an inverted or reversed position.
  • adverb Another time; again.
  • adverb In repetition.
  • adverb In addition or excess; in surplus.
  • adverb Beyond or until a specified time.
  • adverb At an end.
  • noun A series of six balls bowled from one end of a cricket pitch.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English ofer; see uper in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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 (ufar), Latin super, Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér), Albanian epër ("superior"), Sanskrit उपरि (upari).

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Examples

  • The praise and much of the intro for U2 was warranted… but Bono had to keep sliding back into the topic at hand (the aids epidemic in Africa) over and over… as if it were some cheap commercial plug in…

    ugotsoul Diary Entry ugotsoul 2002

  • Having passed the Styx, (much the smallest of the rivers,) you walk over a pile of large rocks, and are on the banks of Lethe; and looking back, you will see a line of men and women descending the high hill from the cave, which runs _over_ the river Styx.

    Rambles in the Mammoth Cave, during the Year 1844 By a Visiter Alexander Clark Bullitt

  • ’ Scott has grown-up to be a brisk-hearted jovial young man and Advocate: in vacation-time he makes excursions to the Highlands, to the Border Cheviots and Northumberland; rides free and far, on his stout galloway, through bog and brake, over the dim moory Debatable Land, —over Flodden and other fields and places, where, though he yet knew it not, his work lay.

    Paras. 25-49 1909

  • [_Her tresses fall suddenly over her head, as she is leaning out so, and stream over_ PÉLLÉAS]

    Pélléas and Mélisande Maurice Maeterlinck 1905

  • He esteems those who staunchly oppose him, and seeks to gain them over by generosity: for those who _come over_ he ever has a secret contempt; for those who desert him, hatred.

    The Life of Napoleon I (Volume 2 of 2) John Holland Rose 1898

  • _Lie down and roll over and over_, as fast as you can.

    The Child's Day Woods Hutchinson 1896

  • Bring down the upper ropes over the second log (Fig. 41), cross the lower ropes _over_ the upper ones and turn them back (Fig. 42).

    On the Trail An Outdoor Book for Girls Lina Beard 1888

  • Bring the knotted end over the long twine, forming a bight, then _over_ and _under_ its own twine with the single tie (_H_).

    On the Trail An Outdoor Book for Girls Lina Beard 1888

  • Roll the third log over the lower ropes and make the weaving loop as with the other two, _always_ crossing the lower rope _over_ the upper (Fig. 43).

    On the Trail An Outdoor Book for Girls Lina Beard 1888

  • One day Betty was looking over from Mary Beck's and saw that the east window and the pear-tree branch were in plain sight; so the two girls invented a system of signals: one white handkerchief meant _come over_, and two meant _no_, but a single one in answer was for _yes_.

    Betty Leicester A Story For Girls Sarah Orne Jewett 1879

Comments

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  • Contronymic in the sense: finished vs. reinitiated.

    January 27, 2007

  • Cricket - a set of six legitimately-bowled balls from one end of the ground. After an over the umpire calls "Over" at which point the game is not over, it simply switches to the other end. For the next over.

    November 30, 2007