to well over
1
4.4
- phrasal verb
- The wine spilled well over the rim of the glass when I poured it too quickly.
- well over a million
- well over a billion
- well over a century
Examples
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After only two or three weeks, well over a thousand had been received.
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The police said you had well over a $100 with you at the bus station.
-
I still play this game well over a year after its initial release.
Blog text (3) -
I had been divorced for well over a year.
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The death toll is expected to be well over 2 million people.
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They raised well over a million pounds.
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In some states, there have been well over a thousand record-high temperatures set or tied this year.
Blog text (1) -
In the end, well over 3,000 people chipped in.
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I put well over 20,000 hours of my own time into researching these problems with vaccines.
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According to the NHS, some 40,000 are performed every year—well over 100 a day.
Academic text (2012)
Synonyms
27
4.2
To move beyond the edge of a container or place
13
2.4
Hot liquid gets too high and spills out of its container
2
4.7
To be so full of strong feeling or excitement that you show it clearly
2
5.3
Go past a limit or planned time
2
4.8
To flow over the top of something like a wall or river bank
2
3.2
A liquid flows over the top of its container
1
3.6
To flow over the edge when a container or feeling is too full
1
4.9
To flow over the edge of a container or limit
1
5.4
To make a boiling liquid rise and spill over a pot
1
7.8
To be or make something so full that it spills over the edge
Antonyms
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'well' (to surge up, of liquid or emotion) combined with 'over' (across/above or beyond an edge) yields the sense of surging so as to flow or spill over. This verb+particle motion/metaphor pattern is common in English and other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Well over comes from the picture of water rising until it pours past the top of a container; well means to rise up and over shows passing the edge, so the phrase is used when liquids or strong feelings 'spill over' or 'burst out'.