as in catching
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 overtaking
Beijing has spent years investing heavily in power generation, data center capacity and AI development as part of its goal of overtaking America in emerging technologies.
—
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 15 June 2026
Still, SpaceX has emerged as the dominant player in the space industry, overtaking legacy giants, despite being founded just 24 years ago.
—Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 15 June 2026
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
The 29-point reversal is the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history—overtaking the 24-point comeback pulled off by the Boston Celtics in the 2008 Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
—Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Raman steadily chipped away at Pratt’s roughly 40,000-vote election night lead before overtaking him over the weekend.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 10 June 2026
Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer is in third place in the current ballot tally, and the odds of him overtaking Hilton appear increasingly unlikely.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
The film is within $11M of overtaking Michael producer Graham King’s previous top-grossing movie, Bohemian Rhapsody ($911M WW).
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 9 June 2026
The news comes after Raman surged ahead in election results over the weekend, overtaking political newcomer Spencer Pratt.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 8 June 2026
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 15 June 2026
Still, SpaceX has emerged as the dominant player in the space industry, overtaking legacy giants, despite being founded just 24 years ago.
—Jacqueline Munis, Fortune, 15 June 2026
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
The 29-point reversal is the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history—overtaking the 24-point comeback pulled off by the Boston Celtics in the 2008 Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
—Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Raman steadily chipped away at Pratt’s roughly 40,000-vote election night lead before overtaking him over the weekend.
—Teresa Liu, Daily News, 10 June 2026
Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer is in third place in the current ballot tally, and the odds of him overtaking Hilton appear increasingly unlikely.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2026
The film is within $11M of overtaking Michael producer Graham King’s previous top-grossing movie, Bohemian Rhapsody ($911M WW).
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 9 June 2026
The news comes after Raman surged ahead in election results over the weekend, overtaking political newcomer Spencer Pratt.
—Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 8 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtaking
Verb
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How about Matt Capps, a closer on a one-year deal, for a young catching prospect with the Minnesota Twins named Wilson Ramos.—
Barry Svrluga,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
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In 2016, a B-52 crashed during takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, catching fire.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
16 June 2026
Verb
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What happens next will be telling—OpenAI and Anthropic are chasing each other to public debuts that are looking increasingly inevitable.—
Allie Garfinkle,
Fortune,
15 June 2026
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The stallions are known to engage in fierce battles in public spaces, including chasing, kicking and biting.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
15 June 2026
Verb
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That trove of information provided a glimpse across thousands of miles between New England and the Caribbean and at depths reaching about 6,500 feet deep.—
Jenny Staletovich,
Sun Sentinel,
14 June 2026
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Since then, construction employment has gained ground, reaching 65,200 in April, a 44% increase from 2010, according to the Connecticut Labor Department, but still a slow slog over more than 15 years.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overtaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtaking. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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