OVERTAKE Synonyms: 10 Similar and Opposite Words

overtake

verb

ˌō-vər-ˈtāk

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fall short

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of overtake Academies have overtaken high school and college soccer A player’s journey almost always begins with a ball, at home or at a nearby park. —

Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 11 June 2026 Some of our favorites feature a pair of female astronauts who fall in love, women overtaken by vampirism and a man facing down the AIDS epidemic. —

Caroline Killilea, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026 Today that benchmark has been overtaken by something more complex. —

Yinka Adegoke, semafor.com, 10 June 2026 White clover can quickly overtake your lawn, competing with grass and plants for nutrients and sunlight. —

Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 10 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for overtake

Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtake

Verb

Running back Jonathon Brooks, who is returning from back-to-back ACL surgeries on his right knee, caught a pass across the middle from Young and blazed down the field through traffic.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 11 June 2026
All day, the spokespeople for the city and the arena sniped at each other in statements about the security around MSG and the fate of a watch party caught in the snares.

— Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 11 June 2026