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Glite Dictionary
to ask over

to ask over

9 3.1
Invite someone to your home for dinner or drinks
  • phrasal verb
  • /æsk ˈoʊvər/
  • US
translation icon : invitar a casa
  • She asked a few friends over to celebrate her birthday.
  • ask you over for dinner
  • ask him to come over
  • ask your friend over

Examples

  • I asked him over for Thanksgiving.

    Across the Universe (2007)

  • So when she asked him over to her place for lunch yesterday, he said yes.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • These are some friends I asked over.

    Mame (1974)

  • I asked him over for dinner.

    Against the Law (1997)

  • The reason I asked you to come over is... ...I need to talk to you about something.

    Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

  • My wife and I have been wanting to ask you over for dinner for a long time," I said.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • We asked Mitch to come over.

    A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

  • I thought I'd call little Joan Harrison and ask her over to tea tomorrow.

    Tea and Sympathy (1956)

  • She thought you two got on pretty well, and she wondered if I might ask you over for dinner on Friday.

    The Good Doctor (2011)

  • Dan invited two other ranchers, and Hutch asked a few cowboys over from Jackson.

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

to invite
vsto ask over
∞ 1.0

To ask someone politely to come or take part in an event

is limited to home social visits rather than any event
to ask in
vsto ask over
12 1.0

Invite someone to come into a room or house

is focused on welcoming people to the home for social events
to invite to dinner
vsto ask over
3 1.2

Ask someone to join you for an evening meal

is used for any home social visit rather than only a meal
to have company over
vsto ask over
1 1.8

Invite people to your home to visit or eat

is about inviting someone to come rather than arranging hosting
to ask round
vsto ask over
  • UK
4.1

To invite people to your home for a visit or meal

is a general home invitation for any social occasion

Antonyms

to decline
272 3.4

To say no politely to an offer or invitation

How Social

to host
466 2.1
to ask over
  • US
9 3.1
to ask in
12 1.0

Surface Forms

ask over infinitive
asked over past
asked over past participle
asking over present participle
asks over third person singular

Morphology

ask + over

The meaning 'invite someone to your home' is directly derivable from combining 'ask' (to request) with the particle 'over', which commonly signals movement to the speaker's place (as in 'come over'). This verb+particle composition follows a regular English phrasal-verb pattern and is likely comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituents and the 'over' = come to my place usage.

Etymology

Ask over comes from the simple image of the verb ask plus the word over: you ask someone to come over to your house. So, to ask over means 'to invite someone to your home'.