once-over

[ wuhns-oh-ver ]

/ ˈwʌnsˌoʊ vər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR once-over ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Informal.

a quick look, examination, or appraisal.

a quick, superficial job: He gave the car just a once-over with a rag.

Content related to once-over

Fall Once Had A Different Name We may call it fall, but once upon a time the season that comes after summer but before winter was referred to by a different name ...

The Letter B Once Had A Much Longer Name The letter B was part of the Phoenician alphabet more than 3000 years ago in 1000 BCE. At that time, the letter was called beth and looked a little different, but it made the sound of b and was second in the alphabet. The shape of the letter resembled the floor plan of a house, and the word beth meant “house.” This is pictured below. In Hebrew, the letter was called beth, bet, or bayt which also …

Words related to once-over

checkup, examination, inspection, survey, appraisal

Words nearby once-over

once in a lifetime, once in a while, once more unto the breach, dear friends, once over lightly, once upon a time, once-over, once-over-lightly, oncer, onchocerca, onchocerciasis, oncidium

Origin of once-over

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for once-over

The two men give each other a once-over, in a way that suggests, why not?
Las Vegas Bets Big on Gays|Itay Hod|May 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I got just about the once-over from every brute there, and that was all.
Somewhere in Red Gap|Harry Leon Wilson
Were going to give this valley the once-over with a fine-toothed comb.
Slim Evans and his Horse Lightning|Graham M. Dean
How about it, Jeff—want to go along and give the big town the once-over or not?
J. Poindexter, Colored|Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb

Besides, those Brungarian scientists are probably giving him the once-over with all sorts of electronic doodads.
Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X|Victor Appleton
But he came to immediate, and we all stood at attention while he give that bundle the once-over.
Believe You Me!|Nina Wilcox Putnam

British Dictionary definitions for once-over

once-over

noun informal

a quick examination or appraisal

a quick but comprehensive piece of work

a violent beating or thrashing (esp in the phrase give (a person or thing) the (or a) once-over)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012