gloss over

phrasal verb·1 sense·particle over

Usefulness

Meanings

1

Treat lightly to hide difficulty

Coveringuncommon

Why “over”? Something goes over another thing. It can hide it, protect it, or cover its surface.

He glossed over the awkward question.
He moved past the awkward question quickly so he did not have to answer it.
The report glossed over the missing costs.
The report mentioned the missing costs too quickly and hid the problem.

Test yourself

He glossed over the awkward question. What does it mean?

Nearby in the meaning map

Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.

Sink In app icon

Sink In — iOS & Android

Practice “gloss over” in Sink In

Drill “gloss over” and 1,300+ other phrasal verbs with spaced repetition, organised by the particle patterns that connect them.

  • Learn the pattern behind dozens of verbs at once — not one-off translations.
  • Spaced repetition (SM-2) brings each meaning back right before you forget.
  • Four practice modes train recall and discrimination, not just recognition.
1,300+ phrasal verbs26 particle patternsBuilt for B1–C2
Sink In daily spaced-repetition practice session