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Glite Dictionary
to walk over (someone)

to walk over (someone)

6.1
To treat someone badly by ignoring their needs and using them
  • phrasal verb
  • /wɔk ˈoʊvər ˈsʌmˌwʌn/
  • Informal
: pisotear
  • You can't just let her walk over you at work; you deserve respect.

Examples

  • He realized he was letting his friends walk over him and decided to be more assertive.

  • If you always agree to everything, people might start to walk over you.

  • If you are too lenient, they will walk over you and take advantage of your kindness.

  • She started to feel that her boss would walk over her if she didn't speak up.

  • When you let others walk over you, it can lead to frustration and resentment.

Synonyms

to step on
vsto walk over (someone)
  • Informal
67 6.7

To treat someone badly to gain power or get ahead

takes advantage without strongly asserting power
to ride roughshod over
vsto walk over (someone)
1 8.5

Treat other people's feelings, rights, or opinions as not important and ignore them rudely

is less aggressive and may not discard opinions so completely
to walk all over someone
vsto walk over (someone)
  • Informal
7.2

Treat someone badly by using them and ignoring their feelings

is the shorter alternative form with identical meaning

Antonyms

respect
374 2.8

A particular part or detail of something

How Respectful

to disregard
106 3.9
to walk over (someone)
  • Informal
6.1
to exploit
289 5.6
to abuse
  • NSFW
238 3.7

Surface Forms

walk over infinitive
walked over past
walked over past participle
walking over present participle
walks over third person singular

Morphology

walk + over + (someone)

The literal meanings of 'walk' and 'over' (to pass across or trample) provide a clear metaphorical basis for domineering or taking advantage of someone, so a learner can get a general sense from the parts. However, the specific social meaning 'treat someone with disrespect or take advantage of them' is a non-literal extension and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so prior exposure helps.

Etymology

The phrasal verb walk over (someone) comes from a clear image of a person literally walking over someone else, stepping on or pushing them aside. If people walk over you, they treat you without respect and 'take advantage' of you.