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Glite Dictionary
to come over

to come over

99 3.1
To seem a certain way to other people when you say or show something
  • phrasal verb
  • /kʌm ˈoʊvər/
translation icon : dar la impresión de
  • His response to the question came over as very thoughtful and sincere.

Examples

  • The presentation didn't come over as intended; many people seemed confused.

  • When I told her my idea, it really came over as something innovative.

  • I mean, uh, it was lovely of you to come over, though.

    Dicks: The Musical (2023)

  • Yeah, tell her to come over.

    Philadelphia (1993)

  • "It's been two weeks since she was supposed to come over for dinner."

    Fiction book (2001)

  • "Why does he have to come over here all the time?"

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Her mum, Julie, had come over to see how she was.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Why don't you all come over?

    Middle of Nowhere (2012)

  • I mean, you guys used to come over and visit, and we'd had so much fun.

    Of Things Past (2023)

  • Why don't you come over?

    The Ice Harvest (2005)

Synonyms

to come across
vsto come over
106 3.9

To seem to other people in a particular way

is expressed or presented to others rather than simply interpreted

How Clear

to resonate
124 6.0
to come over
99 3.1
to come across
106 3.9

Surface Forms

come over infinitive
came over past
come over past participle
coming over present participle
comes over third person singular

Morphology

come + over

The sense 'to be communicated / to make an impression' is partially derivable because 'come' implies arrival and 'over' can signal transfer or across, so learners may infer a transfer of meaning or impression. However, this communicative/metaphorical reading is not fully predictable from the parts alone and varies by context, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may not reliably infer the exact meaning.

Etymology

Come over may come from the simple picture of a message or feeling that comes over to someone—like a voice crossing a room to reach a listener. So, if words do not 'come over', they fail to give the right 'impression'.