she looked over at Port

[constantinusphilo]

What is the exact meaning of 'over' in the following passage from Paul Bowles's The Sheltering Sky:
While she was still eating, she looked over at Port and saw that he was already asleep.

 

[jutfrank]

This is a very common use of over to create a sense of distance. It's especially used when there is an idea of traversing a particular space. In this context, I might guess that the space in question is a room, and that Port is on the other side of the room.

Here are some more examples of over used in the same basic way:

Put it over there on the table.
He walked over to the window.
Hello to all my friends over in Canada.

 

[Tarheel]

To add to what jutfrank said, it's a very common usage, so you should definitely learn it.