overcome
Americanverb (used with object)
-
overcomes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overcame,
past
-
overcome,
past participle
-
overcoming
present participle
-
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)
-
overcomes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
overcame,
past
-
overcome,
past participle
-
overcoming
present participle
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
Synonym Usage
See defeat.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
overcomesimple
-
overcomessimple
-
have overcomeperfect
-
has overcomeperfect
-
am overcomingprogressive
-
are overcomingprogressive
-
is overcomingprogressive
-
have been overcomingperfect progressive
-
has been overcomingperfect progressive
Past
-
overcamesimple
-
had overcomeperfect
-
was overcomingprogressive
-
were overcomingprogressive
-
had been overcomingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of overcome
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English ofercuman; see over-, come
Explanation
Use the verb overcome when you talk about someone who has triumphed over adversity. It's great to see a friend who's always struggled in school overcome his learning disabilities and make the honor roll. You can also be overcome with emotions, or overwhelmed by your feelings. Many people feel so overcome with sadness at a movie — or happiness at a wedding — that they regret not bringing a pile of tissues with them. The verb overcome also means to win or surpass. If you are going to win the marathon, you are going to have to overcome having five runners ahead of you.
Vocabulary lists containing overcome
List 1
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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"Hitching a Ride"
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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.
See Examples For:
Researchers at the University of Chicago have now developed a new approach that could help overcome this problem.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
To counter the growing threat across Fae territories, Prythian’s fractured Night Court must overcome internal rifts and recent betrayals to restore former alliances.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Penn State researchers have now developed an approach designed to overcome that incompatibility.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
Bitcoin’s outlook depends on whether improving liquidity and institutional access can overcome regulatory delays and short-term exchange traded fund outflows, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
But the resignation—part of me always thinks there’s a way I could overcome that.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
This overcomes a key challenge facing Moore's Law that Intel sums up as: "You can make something smaller and smaller and smaller... until you can't".
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
But even here, her sincerity overcomes her weakness for sentimental flourishes, including Amine Bouhafa’s treacly score.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2026
Whether it’s the idea that misery loves company or that everyone endures and overcomes some sort of hardship, a glimmer of hope exists in a future that is unwritten.
From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2025
This discovery overcomes a major limitation in modern neuroscience by making it possible to directly observe how neurons receive information.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 29, 2025
Soon Mother will send word of his birth to the bishop, who will rule on our future, but for now my delight in Hamlet overcomes any fear.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
The team overcame this obstacle by creating genetically modified "orexin-Cre" rats.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
She overcame weather delays, and the loss of the first set, to defeat world number three Jessica Pegula in the Washington Open final, becoming the first Filipina to win a WTA title.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
France’s economy picked up in the second quarter, helped by household spending and robust exports as it overcame some of the uncertainty about the course and consequences of the conflict in the Middle East.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Traders using Robinhood Markets overcame anxiety around cryptocurrency and technology stocks in the latest quarter, betting big on events like the World Cup and driving the brokerage platform’s revenue to record levels.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Don’t say I was cross. I was fatigued. The heat overcame me.”
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
It’s perhaps because Reynolds is so familiar with overcoming feelings of insecurity that she understood Alice so well.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Meanwhile, Gerwyn Price survived a scare before overcoming Germany's Martin Schindler 11-9.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
The Italian was at his ruthless best in dismantling Djokovic, overcoming the player who was expected to be his biggest obstacle to success in straight sets.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
As a tanik, or outsider, in an insular Native Inupiat community, she dedicated herself to cultivating relationships and overcoming the locals’ mistrust.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
And then, on the instructor’s order, I remember overcoming my every instinct for selfpreservation and pulling off the mask.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
