over

This is one of those small English words that shows up everywhere. Most often, it points to a place above something else, like a plane flying over the mountains, or to movement from one side to the other, like walking over a bridge. It also often tells you that something has ended: "The movie is over now."

It can also carry the idea of excess, as in overcooked food or being overloaded with work. In everyday speech, people may say they are "over" a problem or a past relationship, meaning they have moved on from it. The exact meaning changes with the situation, but it usually stays close to the ideas of above, across, finished, or too much.

The word "over" is very flexible in English. It can work as a preposition, an adverb, an adjective, and as part of many longer words. At its center, it usually carries one of a few main ideas: higher than something, from one side to another, finished, or more than what is needed.

As a *preposition, it often shows position or movement. A bird can fly over a house, a blanket can lie over a chair, and a runner can jump over a wall. It can also mean "across" in a broader sense, as when someone travels over the sea, or it can show control or attention, as in watching over* a child.

As an *adverb, it can describe movement or transfer. Someone can come over to visit, turn a page over, or knock a glass over. In conversation systems such as radio use, people also say "Over*" to show that they have finished speaking and are waiting for a reply.

As an *adjective, it often means that something has ended: "The game is over." It can also suggest that a person has recovered emotionally from something: "She is finally over* the disappointment."

"Over" also appears in many compound words and prefixes that add the sense of excess, covering, or completion, such as overcook, overfill, overconfident, and overcoat. Because it appears in so many patterns, the best way to understand it is to look at the words around it. Even then, the meaning usually stays close to the same core ideas: above, across, ended, or too much.