over time

prepositional phrase

over time is a prepositional phrase meaning “From a historic or evolutionary perspective” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled O-V-E-R-T-I-M-E.

What does over time mean?

prepositional phrase

1
From a historic or evolutionary perspective.
"This graph shows the population of California over time."
2
Occurring gradually, as the time passes.

verb

as over-time

1
datedobsoleterareTo time or measure the development of something in excess.
2
datedobsoleterareTo grant an excess amount of time to an exposure or other process.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Forms of over time

over-times present, singular, he/she/it
over-timing participle, present
over-timed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Words people confuse with over time

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

over-time vs overtime880 G

Also written: overtime (one word or two).

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Over time in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

Language	Words
French	avec le temps (with respect to the passage of time)
Spanish	a lo largo del tiempo, a través del tiempo (with respect to the passage of time), andando el tiempo, con el tiempo, a medida que el tiempo transcurre, conforme transcurre el tiempo (gradually, as time passes)
Portuguese	com o tempo, com o passar do tempo (gradually, as time passes)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does over time come from?

From over- + time.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).