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Glite Dictionary
to stop over

to stop over

8 3.6
To stay somewhere for a short time, often overnight, before continuing a trip
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈstɑːp ˈoʊvər/
translation icon : hacer escala
  • We may have to stop over at a motel for the night.

Examples

  • We may have to stop over at a motel for the night.

    Midnight (2020)

  • Jaya, we can stop over in London.

    Bride & Prejudice (2004)

  • I mean, we can stop over for the night.

    Bobby Deerfield (1977)

  • You must take advantage of the fact that you are here to stop over in China.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Then, those three days we stopped over in Corfu, I had a terrible cold.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • My place in Baton Rouge is on the way, and she wants to know if she can stop over tomorrow night.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • So, if you find yourself in Ojai, I highly suggest you stop over at El Paca Pastures and pay them a visit.

    Blog text (4)

  • She said if we don't stop over in Wilkes-Barre, she'll never forgive us.

    It Happened One Night (1934)

  • As if to underline the new policy, the State Department granted President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan permission to stop over in the United States for three days on his way to and from Latin America in May and June 2001.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Whenever I came through the States, I would stop over for a week or two.

Synonyms

to stop
vsto stop over
∞ 1.0

To pause a journey to stay at a place

emphasizes an overnight temporary pause rather than a visit
to crash
vsto stop over
  • Informal
111 7.0

To sleep somewhere for a short time without planning to

is the travel interruption usually planned or neutral in tone, not informal unplanned stays
to lay over
vsto stop over
  • US
4.2

To stop during a journey and stay somewhere, often overnight, before you continue

is similar but can mean any temporary interruption, not only overnight

Antonyms

to continue
∞ 1.0

To keep doing something without stopping

How Long

to move in
415 1.8
to stay
∞ 1.0
to stop over
8 3.6
to stop by
  • Informal
494 2.5
to pop in
  • Informal
25 3.4

Surface Forms

stop over infinitive
stopped over past
stopped over past participle
stopping over present participle
stops over third person singular

Morphology

stop + over

The meaning 'to interrupt a journey by staying somewhere temporarily' is directly derivable from combining 'stop' (to cease movement or pause) with the particle 'over' indicating a temporary/on-the-way duration/place. This phrasal-verb composition follows common English motion/particle patterns and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The expression stop over comes from a simple travel picture: you stop on the way and stay over for a short time before you go on. That's why stop over means 'to interrupt a journey by staying somewhere temporarily, often overnight, before continuing to your destination'.