to lord over
8
7.5
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
dominar
- Your yearning shall be for your husband, yet he will lord it over you.
It all flows back, and it flows back because the ocean doesn't Lord itself over anyone.
- It all flows back, and it flows back because the ocean doesn't Lord itself over anyone.
- Even the people who are lording over these social media platforms are befuddled or insincere about the path forward.
- Now, a Greek tyrant doesn't just mean somebody who's a bully who Lords it over other people.
Examples
-
You're not lording it over them as you might be doing if you're contradicting them.
-
Many of us went on to become college professors and thus gained power in the classroom, where we could lord it over those who were not like us.
Academic text (2011) -
And because she would not let him force her or lord it over her, she forced herself and said, "OK, if you want."
Fiction book (1996) -
And the way he lords over me.
-
Wealthy narcissists will use that money to Lord over other people.
-
You get the idea that they're lording it over us a bit, you know?
-
Neither should seek to lord it over the other or to claim superiority by dint of size, population, or past performance.
Academic text (1991) -
Then he was embarrassed and apologized to me as if afraid I thought he was lording it over me.
Fiction book (1994) -
You're the only guy in town who doesn't have sun-bleached hair, and all you do is lord it over us white guys.
Fiction book (2001) -
Wealthy narcissists will use that money to lord over other people.
Synonyms
307
2.7
To give orders and control people or things
48
3.7
To rise above a place and be clearly visible from around it
48
3.1
To tell other people what to do in a rude way
37
4.5
Tell people what to do in a rude way when you have no right
23
4.2
To be in charge of people or a place
6
8.2
Act as if you are better than other people
2
8.8
To boss other people around and not let them speak
1
6.7
Behave as if you are better than other people
Behave as if others are less important
Behave like a king and ignore other people's ideas
To make others see you are in charge
Antonyms
How Domineering
- US
2
8.4
2
8.8
- Informal
8
7.5
7
8.2
- Offensive
52
7.0
- Offensive
53
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
lord + over
The meaning is motivated by the constituents: 'lord' denotes a person with authority and 'over' conveys dominance or superiority, so the sense 'to act dominantly toward others' is derivable from the parts. However, the construction relies on converting a noun to a verb and a conventional collocational pattern (to X over someone), so the sense is somewhat metaphorical and may not be fully predictable to all B1 learners without exposure.
Etymology
The verb lord over may come from the image of a powerful lord standing above people and giving orders, with over showing that 'above' position. So to lord over someone today means 'to act as if you are better than others'.