to tower over
14
4.8
- phrasal verb
- /ˈtaʊər ˈoʊvər/
:
sobresalir sobre
- As the tallest player on the team, she towers over her opponents during the game.
You know, I've seen Chinese basketball players, for instance, who tower over everybody else.
- You know, I've seen Chinese basketball players, for instance, who tower over everybody else.
- You're going to look at Leah Thomas towering over female swimmers and you're going to accept, but that is perfectly normal.
- Rear of the screen towered over the palm tree like a second sky around the complex stretch, the whitewashed wall.
Examples
-
At six feet six, Luke towered over the five-foot-four Nora.
Fiction book (1993) -
His huge frame towered over the pudgy patrolman, who retreated a step.
Fiction book (1992) -
I tower over everyone in Umbradge.
-
It's this massive supercar that towers over even normal cars today.
-
You know, I've seen Chinese basketball players, for instance, who tower over everybody else.
-
It towers over us like some enormous monster.
-
His broad shoulders and massive six-foot-three-inch frame towered over Molly and Becky.
Fiction book (1992) -
The tall black smokestack towered over the paddlewheels and the walking beam amidships, dwarfing the pilot house.
Fiction book (1992) -
The skyscraper towers over the surrounding buildings, making them look small in comparison.
-
The giant oak tree towers over the smaller bushes in the garden, creating a beautiful focal point.
Synonyms
72
4.6
To be much taller than nearby things and look more important
48
3.7
To rise above a place and be clearly visible from around it
48
5.9
To make someone or something seem less important compared with another
15
4.8
Do better and get more attention than others
8
4.6
To be much better than someone or something
8
7.5
To treat other people as if you are better than them
7
5.3
To make someone or something seem less important by comparison
6
8.2
Act as if you are better than other people
1
6.5
To be higher than something so you can look down at it
To stand above something and stick out over it
Antonyms
How Dominant
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from 'tower' (to stand or rise much higher) + 'over' (above/over), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the sense of being physically higher and, by extension, more imposing. This compositional location/motion pattern and its metaphorical extension to dominance are common cross-linguistically and follow standard English usage, making the expression immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Tower over comes from the image of a tall tower standing over small houses, making them look tiny and unimportant. So, to tower over someone or something means 'to be much taller, larger, or more impressive'.