overtakes

Definition of overtakesnext
present tense third-person singular of overtake
as in catches
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 overtakes The convergence of Iowa State fans to Power & Light or the sea of blue that overtakes downtown this week or the plethora of NBA general managers in the front rows offered enough of a reminder that Kansas City didn’t need. Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2026 Paranoia overtakes several players who vie for protection. Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2026 When exhaustion overtakes them, something more sinister comes creeping from the shadows. Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 15 Feb. 2026 Afterward, Agnes and I were felled by the kind of hunger that overtakes only those who have exerted themselves in cold weather. Boris Fishman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026 The show overtakes confrontation, less as a strategy than as a compromise no one remembers agreeing to. Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026 Opposition occurs when Earth, moving faster in its orbit than Jupiter, overtakes the giant planet. Joe Rao, Space.com, 7 Jan. 2026 Ancestors are memorialized but then assured that the rum still flows as drunkenness overtakes our narrator. Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025 But director Kurtis David Harder (Influencer) imbues the proceedings with a slow-boiling paranoid energy that slowly overtakes the film. Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtakes
Verb
  • The 27-year-old Kmet primarily played in-line (62%) in 2025, but has demonstrated slot production in three straight years of 50-plus catches from 2021 to 2023.
    Luca Evans, Denver Post, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The critical detail that catches many retirees off guard is the two-year lookback.
    Allison Palmer, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Both trials — one in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the other in Los Angeles — pointed to the struggles Meta has faced to adequately police Facebook and Instagram, which remain the primary cash engines as the company chases Google, OpenAI and Anthropic in artificial intelligence.
    Ari Levy, CNBC, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Catcher Clayton Namken chases a high fastball, striking out swinging.
    Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Saturn reaches from there to sextile Pluto in your valuable 2nd house, which may narrow your focus toward material resources.
    Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 28 Mar. 2026
  • If the partnership reaches certain benchmarks, Uber will purchase 40,000 more Rivian vehicles in 2030.
    Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Overtakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtakes. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.

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