To run over somebody is to hit them with a vehicle. The worst thing in the phrase book.
It splits round an object, and being run over is the passive everybody knows. There are two much lighter senses: running over a document means reading it quickly, and a meeting that runs over has gone past its finishing time, which is the commonest use in office life. A bath running over means overflowing. Only context separates a catastrophe from a scheduling problem.
1phraserun overTo knock down and drive over with a vehicle.
“He was terrified he might run over a cat in the lane.”
2phrasecontinueTo continue past the allotted time.
“The meeting will run over again.”
Also accepted in games: run down
Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove
First appears in chapter 15 of A Man Called Ove.
Practise this word