to arch over
1
4.4
- phrasal verb
:
arco sobre
- Wisteria traced the old wooden arch over the entrance to the Pack's rutted driveway.
- trees arch over
- arch over the road
- bridge arched over
Examples
-
The branches of the old oak tree arch over the pathway, creating a natural tunnel.
-
The trees on Maple are gigantic, so old, they arch over the road in a canopy of leaves.
Fiction book (1999) -
It's set up a bunch of chairs and a little arch over what looks like a pasture gate.
-
The ceiling arched over us like an umbrella, and every little sound had an echo.
Fiction book (2000) -
At Seventy-ninth Street, the canopies of huge old oaks arched over the sidewalk, high above the man-made arbor, which itself was densely covered with wisteria.
Fiction book (2001) -
The decorative lights arch over the entrance, welcoming guests to the event.
-
A rainbow arches over the city after the rainstorm, adding color to the gray sky.
Synonyms
To make a curved shape over something, like a roof or bridge
Antonyms
How Curved
1
4.4
22
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to form or extend in the shape of an arch above or across something' is directly and compositionally derived from 'arch' (to bend or curve) combined with 'over' (above/across), following a straightforward spatial verb + preposition pattern. This literal, cross-linguistically common construction makes the meaning immediately inferable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Arch over gives a clear picture: arch is a curve and over means 'above', so something bends into a curved shape above another thing. That's why it means 'to form a curved shape above or across something'.