as in to catch
to move fast enough to get even with
she had to hurry to overtake her friends, who had forgotten their umbrellas the thunderstorm overtook them suddenly
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Recent Examples of overtake
Given their low numbers, there was no mathematical scenario in which Chen, Hilborn or Dullinger could overtake Her or Carter, so they were all dropped from the race.
—
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 5 Nov. 2025
Howard’s literature classes, like mine at roughly the same time, had yet to be overtaken by critical theory, but were under the sway of what was called New Criticism.
—Michael Gorra, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2025
So, for me, that was the creation of the Anti-American Speech Committee, which is a government panel essentially designed to prosecute artists for holding views or creating work that resists basically the fascist state that has overtaken the American government.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
Barring a sudden spurt in Sunday State Farm spend, Mahomes is in danger of being overtaken by MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani (82 in-game New Balance airings) and Eli Manning.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overtake
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 5 Nov. 2025
Howard’s literature classes, like mine at roughly the same time, had yet to be overtaken by critical theory, but were under the sway of what was called New Criticism.
—Michael Gorra, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2025
So, for me, that was the creation of the Anti-American Speech Committee, which is a government panel essentially designed to prosecute artists for holding views or creating work that resists basically the fascist state that has overtaken the American government.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
Barring a sudden spurt in Sunday State Farm spend, Mahomes is in danger of being overtaken by MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani (82 in-game New Balance airings) and Eli Manning.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for overtake
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtake
Verb
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One front-line starter that may catch the Mets' eye this offseason is Pittsburgh Pirates hurler Mitch Keller.—
Shaun McAvoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
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At least six vehicles and three auto-rickshaws caught fire, Delhi's deputy fire chief said later, adding that the flames had been doused by firefighting teams.—
Shivam Patel,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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By the time they were chased by regime forces, their boat was virtually dead at sea, the remaining engine barely running.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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One chases agility and research breakthroughs, the other aims for affordability and everyday utility.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Hall could not be reached immediately for comment by telephone late Wednesday afternoon.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Nov. 2025
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Patrick Smith / Getty Images Alex Ovechkin’s historic hockey career reached new heights Wednesday.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overtake.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtake. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
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