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to grow over

to grow over

4 3.5
To spread over something and cover it, as moss or vines do
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡroʊ ˈoʊvər/
translation icon : cubrir
  • Mary told about the robin and led the boy to where the ivy grew over the door.
  • grown over the years

Examples

  • The oysters planted in the spring were left to grow over summer and sold during the subsequent fall.

    Academic text (1996)
  • And my thought process was to have the wisteria grow over this Arbor right here and then also onto the tool shed and kind of, you know, soften the front part of the tool shed.

  • In fact, the bark had grown over the wire.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Walls of peat and grass rise up on the side of country roads, so hedges grow up over your head.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Jonas sits in a little booth that he has constructed, and God causes a leafy plant to grow over him, providing shade and saving him from a good deal of discomfort.

  • The ivy will grow over the old wooden fence, creating a beautiful green wall.

  • As the season progresses, the flowers will grow over the garden bed and spread their petals wide.

  • With proper care, the vines will grow over the trellis, providing shade in the garden.

Synonyms

to expand
vsto grow over
805 2.5

To grow larger in size, amount, or importance

is living extension that fills other areas beyond original borders rather than general increase
to extend
vsto grow over
680 3.2

To make something reach farther, such as more places or people

is plant spread outward into new area beyond original limits rather than mere lengthening
to cover
vsto grow over
192 3.3

To go across an area or distance

is plant movement outward to occupy area beyond original bounds rather than general travel
to spread over
vsto grow over
17 3.6

Form a layer across a surface, like fog or icing

is plant expansion across an area beyond original limits rather than merely layering
to overgrow
vsto grow over
2 4.4

To become too large and cover a place with plants

is plant extension across area beyond original limits rather than too much vegetation
to overspread
vsto grow over
1 7.1

Move across a surface and cover it, like mist or color

is plant extension across area beyond original limits rather than general surface spreading

Antonyms

181 2.8

Become less in amount or value

29 4.8

To move back or become less strong

How Extensive

to engulf
40 5.1
to grow over
4 3.5
to reach
1.0

Surface Forms

grow over infinitive
grew over past
grown over past participle
growing over present participle
grows over third person singular

Morphology

grow + over

The meaning 'to cover or extend across by growing' is directly derivable from combining grow (increase/extend in size) with over (across/above), which signals spatial extension or covering. This verb + particle composition is a regular, cross-linguistic pattern in English and would be readily inferable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Grow over comes from the picture of plants that grow and spread over a path, wall, or shed until they cover it. So, it means 'to cover or spread across something by growing beyond its original area'.