Polyglot Dictionary

übergreifen

/ˈyːbɐˌɡʁaɪ̯fn̩/

verb C1

der (masc.) die (fem.) das (neut.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

V Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Academic Domain General Tone Neutral

Forms

present
greift über
past
griff über
perfect
hat übergegriffen

Meaning

  1. to spread

    Built from über (over) + greifen (to grip).

V Category Action Concreteness Concrete Agency Voluntary Duration Durative Transitivity Transitive

Made of

  • über over
  • greifen to grip

Similar words

ausbreiten

Ausbreiten is spreading something out intentionally, like a blanket or your arms; übergreifen is something spreading unintentionally into another area, like a fire spreading to a neighboring building.

Similar in other languages

Portuguese

propagar

propagar is the Portuguese word for the same thing — both mean "to spread."

Portuguese

propalar

propalar is the Portuguese word for the same thing — both mean "to spread."

Practice

1 What does übergreifen mean?

2 Fill the gap: Das Feuer ___ auf das Nachbarhaus über.

3 Which fingerprint chart matches übergreifen?

verbseparablecompound

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