overtake

verb

over·​take ˌō-vər-ˈtāk How to pronounce overtake (audio)
overtook ˌō-vər-ˈtu̇k How to pronounce overtake (audio) ; overtaken ˌō-vər-ˈtā-kən How to pronounce overtake (audio) ; overtaking
Synonyms of overtakenext

transitive verb

1
a
: to catch up with
b
: to catch up with and pass by
2
: to come upon suddenly

Examples of overtake in a Sentence

She overtook the other runners and went on to win the race. The sign says “No Overtaking.” Seasickness can overtake passengers when the ship encounters a storm.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As of this writing, Backrooms has made more than $200 million globally, overtaking Marty Supreme as A24’s highest-grossing film ever. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 June 2026 With roughly 1,390 ballots still outstanding, the race remained unsettled, though Ortiz would need to win more than three-quarters of the remaining ballots to overtake him in a contest that has remained neck-and-neck. Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 13 June 2026 And this comes at a time when Anthropic has overtaken OpenAI in Enterprise Adoption. Sandy Carter, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026 Richards overtook England centre-back John Stones, who completed 71 undisturbed passes against France in a 2022 quarter-final. Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 13 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for overtake

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from over entry 1 + taken to take

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of overtake was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Overtake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overtake. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

overtake

verb
over·​take ˌō-vər-ˈtāk How to pronounce overtake (audio)
overtook -ˈtu̇k How to pronounce overtake (audio) ; overtaken -ˈtā-kən How to pronounce overtake (audio) ; overtaking
1
a
: to catch up with
b
: to catch up with and pass by
2
: to come upon suddenly
a blizzard overtook the hunting party

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