Over vs. Above

By Jaxson

  • Over (adjective)

    Discontinued; ended or concluded.

    “The show is over.”

  • Over (adverb)

    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.”

  • Over (adverb)

    To an excessive degree; overly.

  • Over (adverb)

    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.”

  • Over (adverb)

    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.”

  • Over (adverb)

    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.”

  • Over (adverb)

    Overnight throughout the night.

    “We stayed over at Grandma’s.”

    “Can I sleep over?”

  • Over (adverb)

    Again; another time; once more; over again.

    “I lost my paper and I had to do the entire assignment over.”

  • Over (adverb)

    (procedure word, military) a procedure word meaning that a station is finished transmitting 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.”

  • Over (noun)

    A set of six legal balls bowled.

  • Over (noun)

    Any surplus amount of money, goods delivered, etc.

  • Over (noun)

    A shore, riverbank.

    “The sea’s over.”

  • Over (preposition)

    Physical positioning.

  • Over (preposition)

    On top of; above; higher than; further up.

    “Hold the sign up over your head.”

    “climb up the ladder and look over [the roof]”

  • Over (preposition)

    Across or spanning.

    “There is a bridge over the river.”

  • Over (preposition)

    In such a way as to cover.

    “drape the fabric over the table;”

    “there is a roof over the house”

  • Over (preposition)

    By comparison.

  • Over (preposition)

    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.”

  • Over (preposition)

    More than; to a greater degree.

    “I prefer the purple over the pink.”

  • Over (preposition)

    Beyond; past; exceeding; too much or too far.

    “I think I’m over my limit for calories for today.”

  • Over (preposition)

    Divided by.

    “four over two equals two over one”

  • Over (preposition)

    Separates the three of a kind from the pair in a full house.

    9♦9♠9♣6♥6♠ = nines over sixes”

  • Over (preposition)

    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.”

  • Over (preposition)

    While using, especially while consuming.

  • Over (preposition)

    Concerning or regarding.

    “The two boys had a fight over whose girlfriend was the best.”

  • Over (preposition)

    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.”

  • Over (interjection)

    In radio communications: end of sentence, ready to receive reply.

    “How do you receive? Over!”

  • Above (preposition)

    Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing. first attested before 1150.

    “He always put his coat on above his sweater.”

  • Above (preposition)

    In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface. first attested before 1150

    “below|beneath”

  • Above (preposition)

    Farther north than. first attested before 1150

    “Idaho is above Utah.”

  • Above (preposition)

    Rising; appearing out of reach height-wise. first attested around 1150–1350

  • Above (preposition)

    Higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; higher in measure, degree, volume, or pitch, etc. than; out of reach; not exposed to; not likely to be affected by; incapable of negative actions or thoughts. first attested around 1150–1350

    “Even the chief of police is not above suspicion.”

    “He was always above reproach.”

    “I thought you said you were above these kinds of antics.”

    “That’s above my comprehension.”

    “to cut above average”

  • Above (preposition)

    Higher in rank, status, or position. first attested around 1150–1350

    “to stand head and shoulders above the rest”

  • Above (preposition)

    In addition to; besides. first attested around 1150–1350

    “above and beyond the call of duty”

    “over and above”

  • Above (preposition)

    Surpassing in number or quantity; more than. first attested around 1350–1470

    “That amount is way above our asking price.”

  • Above (preposition)

    In preference to.

  • Above (preposition)

    Too proud to stoop to; averse to; disinclined; too honorable to give.

    “The owner was above taking more than a token salary.”

  • Above (preposition)

    Beyond; on the other side.

  • Above (preposition)

    Upstage of.

  • Above (adverb)

    Directly overhead; vertically on top of. first attested before 1150.

  • Above (adverb)

    Higher in the same page; earlier in the order as far as writing products go. first attested before 1150.

  • Above (adverb)

    Into or from heaven; in the sky. first attested around 1150–1350

    “He’s in a better place now, floating free as the clouds above.”

  • Above (adverb)

    In a higher place; upstairs; farther upstream. first attested around 1150–1350

  • Above (adverb)

    Higher in rank, power, or position. first attested around 1150–1350

    “He appealed to the court above.”

  • Above (adverb)

    In addition. first attested around 1150–1350

  • Above (adverb)

    More in number. first attested around 1350–1470

  • Above (adverb)

    Above zero; above freezing. first attested in the mid 20th century.

    “It was a cold day at only 5 above.”

  • Above (adverb)

    On the upper half or the dorsal surface of an animal.

    “The sparrow I saw was rufous above and off-white below.”

  • Above (adjective)

    Of heaven; heavenly. first attested around (1150 to 1350).

  • Above (adjective)

    Being located higher on the same page or on a preceding page. first attested in the mid 18th century.

  • Above (noun)

    Heaven. first attested around 1150–1350

  • Above (noun)

    Something, especially a person’s name in legal documents, that appears higher on the same page or on a preceding page.

  • Above (noun)

    Higher authority.

  • Above (noun)

    betterment, raised status or condition.

Wiktionary
  • Above (preposition)

    in extended space over and not touching

    “a cable runs above the duct”

    “a display of fireworks above the town”

  • Above (preposition)

    extending upwards over

    “she held her arms above her head”

  • Above (preposition)

    higher than and to one side of; overlooking

    “in the hills above the capital”

    “on the wall above the altar”

  • Above (preposition)

    at a higher level or layer than

    “from his flat above the corner shop”

    “bruises above both eyes”

  • Above (preposition)

    higher in grade or rank than

    “at a level above the common people”

  • Above (preposition)

    considered of higher status or worth than; too good for

    “I always like to say that I married above myself”

  • Above (preposition)

    in preference to

    “the firm cynically chose profit above car safety”

  • Above (preposition)

    at a higher volume or pitch than

    “he seldom spoke above a whisper”

    “the doorbell went unheard above the din”

  • Above (preposition)

    higher than (a specified amount, rate, or norm)

    “the food was well above average”

    “above sea level”

  • Above (adverb)

    at a higher level or layer

    “place a quantity of mud in a jar with water above”

  • Above (adverb)

    higher in grade or rank

    “an officer of the rank of superintendent or above”

  • Above (adverb)

    higher than a specified amount, rate, or norm

    “boats of 31 ft or above”

  • Above (adverb)

    (in printed text) mentioned earlier or further up on the same page

    “see above left”

    “the two cases described above”

    “since writing the above, I have reconsidered”

    “at the above address”

Oxford Dictionary

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