Words with the prefix over-
over- means “above; excessive; across”, from Old English.
15 examples of the prefix over-
- overdueover- + duepast the expected time
- overlookover- + looklook over from above
- overeatover- + eateat too much
- overcomeover- + comesucceed over an obstacle
- overflowover- + flowflow excessively over the edge
- overheadover- + headabove one's head
- overloadover- + loadload too much weight
- oversleepover- + sleepsleep longer than intended
- overpassover- + passbridge passing over a road
- overpowerover- + powerdefeat with superior force
- overseasover- + seasacross the sea; abroad
- overruleover- + rulerule against a previous decision
- overshadowover- + shadowcast shadow over; diminish by comparison
- overestimateover- + estimateestimate excessively high
- overbearingover- + bearingdominating excessively over others
How over- works
The prefix 'over-' attaches to verbs, nouns, and adjectives without spelling change, producing words meaning 'above,' 'across,' or 'too much/excessively.' Unlike prefixes such as 'in-', 'over-' shows no assimilation to the following consonant and remains invariant in all positions.
Watch out: The word 'oven' looks as though it might begin with 'over-' shortened, but it is an unrelated Old English word with no prefix structure.
To see prefixes combine with other parts, try the word dissector and root builder, or test yourself in the vocabulary quiz.
Other common prefixes
Questions people ask
What does the prefix over- mean?
over- means “above; excessive; across”. It comes from Old English. The prefix 'over-' attaches to verbs, nouns, and adjectives without spelling change, producing words meaning 'above,' 'across,' or 'too much/excessively.' Unlike prefixes such as 'in-', 'over-' shows no assimilation to the following consonant and remains invariant in all positions.
What are some examples of words with the prefix over-?
overdue, overlook, overeat, overcome, overflow, overhead, overload, oversleep. The full list of 15 examples, with what each one literally means, is above.
Which words look like they have the prefix over- but don’t?
The word 'oven' looks as though it might begin with 'over-' shortened, but it is an unrelated Old English word with no prefix structure.
What is a prefix?
A prefix is a word part added to the front of a base word or root to change its meaning, like un- in unhappy or re- in rewrite. It does not usually change the part of speech.