overtake
to catch up with in traveling or pursuit; draw even with: By taking a cab to the next town, we managed to overtake and board the train.
to catch up with and pass, as in a race; move by: He overtook the leader three laps from the finish.
to move ahead of in achievement, production, score, etc.; surpass: to overtake all other countries in steel production.
to happen to or befall someone suddenly or unexpectedly, as night, a storm, or death: The pounding rainstorm overtook them just outside the city.
to pass another vehicle: Never overtake on a curve.
Origin of overtake
1Other words from overtake
- un·o·ver·tak·en, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use overtake in a sentence
This suggests that the pilots were overtaken very rapidly by an emergency.
Along the river, crumbling remnants of an active trading hub are overtaken by nature.
And today, when you look at social media, you see that the narrative can be overtaken by people just from Twitter and Instagram.
Ava DuVernay on ‘Selma,’ the Racist Sony Emails, and Making Golden Globes History | Marlow Stern | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSyrian rebels have overtaken a joint Russian-Syrian secret facility that they claim was a covert intelligence collection base.
Syrian Rebels Seize Russian Spy Station Near Israeli Border | Josh Rogin, Eli Lake | October 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd unsurprisingly, being overtaken is not something market leaders—or their defenders in government—particularly enjoy.
She was a grown young woman when she was overtaken by what she supposed to be the climax of her fate.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinEdna had not traversed a quarter of the distance on her way home before she was overtaken by Robert.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinThe hotel-keepers thought I was the American tourist overtaken by that final madness they had always anticipated.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonA-take, overtaken; because the apparent motion of Venus is swifter than that of Mars.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey ChaucerMèste Ramoun, without making clear what misfortune has overtaken him, entreats the men to tell him what they have seen.
Frdric Mistral | Charles Alfred Downer
British Dictionary definitions for overtake
/ (ˌəʊvəˈteɪk) /
mainly British to move past (another vehicle or person) travelling in the same direction
(tr) to pass or do better than, after catching up with
(tr) to come upon suddenly or unexpectedly: night overtook him
(tr) to catch up with; draw level with
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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