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
But this season the Padres appeared to have their best shot at overtaking their Southern California rivals, even surging into first place for three days in August, twice.
—
Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
The Category 5 storm struck the Gulf Coast, overtaking New Orleans’ insufficient levees and floodwalls, leaving residents submerged in water for weeks.
—Avalon Hester, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
The company has been at the forefront of China’s aggressive EV push, rapidly expanding its domestic market and overtaking Tesla as the world’s largest EV manufacturer by revenue in 2024.
—Sam Meredith, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2025
This exchange would involve Ukraine handing over territory Putin has not been successful in overtaking militarily.
—Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
Chicago’s mayor is scoping out legal avenues to prevent soldiers from overtaking the Windy City after federal threats.
—Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2025
The cassette tape was once one of the most common ways to listen to music, overtaking vinyl in the 1980s before being surpassed by CDs.
—Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2025
Smaller tomato plants of the determinate type can add a splash of color while not overtaking the garden space.
—Special To The Denver Post, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
But Sell Cell thinks that could change between 2026 and 2028, with Samsung eventually overtaking Apple.
—Janhoi McGregor, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
The Category 5 storm struck the Gulf Coast, overtaking New Orleans’ insufficient levees and floodwalls, leaving residents submerged in water for weeks.
—Avalon Hester, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
The company has been at the forefront of China’s aggressive EV push, rapidly expanding its domestic market and overtaking Tesla as the world’s largest EV manufacturer by revenue in 2024.
—Sam Meredith, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2025
This exchange would involve Ukraine handing over territory Putin has not been successful in overtaking militarily.
—Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
Chicago’s mayor is scoping out legal avenues to prevent soldiers from overtaking the Windy City after federal threats.
—Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2025
The cassette tape was once one of the most common ways to listen to music, overtaking vinyl in the 1980s before being surpassed by CDs.
—Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2025
Smaller tomato plants of the determinate type can add a splash of color while not overtaking the garden space.
—Special To The Denver Post, Denver Post, 19 Aug. 2025
But Sell Cell thinks that could change between 2026 and 2028, with Samsung eventually overtaking Apple.
—Janhoi McGregor, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtaking
Verb
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In the first half, Dwyer torched North Carolina for 92 yards while catching all seven of his targets.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Sep. 2025
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The last three Phillies starters in the four-game series that ended Sunday were lefties, and Baldwin started one of those games, with Sean Murphy catching the other two.—
David O'Brien,
New York Times,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Ecuador are a couple of points behind Brazil and sit in the middle of the chasing pack, but that is not the whole story.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Rather than chasing every trend or asset class, invest where your heritage, relationships, and insight give you natural advantage.—
Francois Botha,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Kehl was able to circumvent several layers of security in the building before getting on an elevator and reaching the 48th floor.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
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Cross found prosecutors withheld evidence from Jones' lawyers during the first trial that could have resulted in jurors reaching a different conclusion about his guilt or innocence.—
Dan Horn,
The Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overtaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtaking. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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