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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overtaking
For now, any bottlenecks are a symptom of bureaucracy overtaking values in terms of what’s driving sustainability.
—
Tara Donaldson, Vogue, 16 Feb. 2026
The choral elements on the record shine most vividly on the title track, which features polyphonic swells of voices humming melodies, overtaking the piano, dropping and then rising again.
—Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
The competition is making major headway as well, with German automaker Volkswagen officially overtaking Tesla in fully-electric car sales in Europe last year, according to the latest data.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 5 Feb. 2026
Photos from the scene showed billowing flames and smoke overtaking the orthopedic center.
—David Matthews, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2026
Finding an evergreen tree to add year-round interest to the landscape while not overtaking the space can be challenging.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 3 Feb. 2026
The company secured the majority share in the space last year for the first time, overtaking Novo.
—Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2026
The look is evolving a bit for 2026, though; mid- and low-rise cuts are overtaking their high-rise counterparts, lending the spring a relaxed, lived-in air.
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 27 Jan. 2026
First, concerns about data leaks linked to GenAI jumped to 34% of leadership priorities—overtaking adversarial AI fears at 29%.
—Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Tara Donaldson, Vogue, 16 Feb. 2026
The choral elements on the record shine most vividly on the title track, which features polyphonic swells of voices humming melodies, overtaking the piano, dropping and then rising again.
—Hanif Abdurraqib, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
The competition is making major headway as well, with German automaker Volkswagen officially overtaking Tesla in fully-electric car sales in Europe last year, according to the latest data.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 5 Feb. 2026
Photos from the scene showed billowing flames and smoke overtaking the orthopedic center.
—David Matthews, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2026
Finding an evergreen tree to add year-round interest to the landscape while not overtaking the space can be challenging.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 3 Feb. 2026
The company secured the majority share in the space last year for the first time, overtaking Novo.
—Annika Kim Constantino, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2026
The look is evolving a bit for 2026, though; mid- and low-rise cuts are overtaking their high-rise counterparts, lending the spring a relaxed, lived-in air.
—Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 27 Jan. 2026
First, concerns about data leaks linked to GenAI jumped to 34% of leadership priorities—overtaking adversarial AI fears at 29%.
—Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtaking
Verb
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Getting there involves chartering a plane or catching a flight or ferry from another island.—
Patricia Doherty,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The attitude evidently was catching.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Americans — Tabitha and Tara Peterson, Cory Thiesse and Taylor Anderson-Heide — were chasing the rest of the match, never able to cobble together more than one point with their hammer.—
John Shipley,
Twin Cities,
16 Feb. 2026
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While the trend concerns mostly dramas, American actors are also chasing lighter material from Europe.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Such conditions prompted several regional avalanche forecast services to issue a severe level 4 warning for much of the last two weeks, with some areas even reaching the most severe level 5 warning, at least for a few days.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
22 Feb. 2026
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The Civil Rights Movement had achieved many of its objectives, and African Americans were reaching new heights of professional, political and cultural status.—
Clarence Page,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overtaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtaking. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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