overcome
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to get the better of in a struggle or conflict; conquer; defeat.
to overcome the enemy.
- Synonyms:
- vanquish
-
to prevail over (opposition, a debility, temptations, etc.); surmount.
to overcome one's weaknesses.
-
to overpower or overwhelm in body or mind, as does liquor, a drug, exertion, or emotion.
I was overcome with grief.
-
Archaic. to overspread or overrun.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(tr) to get the better of in a conflict
-
(tr; often passive) to render incapable or powerless by laughter, sorrow, exhaustion, etc
he was overcome by fumes
-
(tr) to surmount (obstacles, objections, etc)
-
(intr) to be victorious
Related Words
See defeat.
Other Word Forms
- overcomer noun
- unovercome adjective
Etymology
Origin of overcome
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English ofercuman; over-, come
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He overcame a strange late sequence in which he kept swapping helmets because of communication problems, looking as irritated as you would expect Rodgers to look after a technological fiasco like that.
In the new study, researchers aimed to overcome these risks by creating safer versions known as "mild" mitochondrial uncouplers.
From Science Daily
The core aim of the course is to identify threats wherever they are, and how to track and overcome them.
From BBC
The results, published in Science Advances on January 1, shed new light on how one of fusion energy's most stubborn physical barriers might finally be overcome on the road to ignition.
From Science Daily
During the service, several in the crowd fainted and fell to the ground, overcome.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
