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:
"But we're listening to people and if there are other challenges that we need to overcome... we'll continuously ensure that we perform the best given the challenges."
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Jake wrote that his dad helped him overcome personal obstacles: “No subject was ever off-limits.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
In the Conference League, Crystal Palace had to overcome Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar in the play-off round after finishing 10th in the league phase.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
To overcome that limitation, the researchers used anonymized cellphone geolocation data with neighborhood-level resolution.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
They were almost overcome by their own mercenary soldiers after the first war with the Romans, even though the Carthaginians had their own citizens as officers.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
Sentiment among German investors exceeded expectations again this month on a bumper earnings season, as the economy overcomes some of the shock of the war in Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
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
"This technology overcomes the longstanding scaling bottleneck caused by size effects through the combination of induced crystallization and buried interface restoration," said Prof. Shuping Pang.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 1, 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
“If you set the surge up high enough, you’ll be glad you’re awake; that’s the whole point. At setting C it overcomes the threshold barring consciousness, as it does for me.”
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
This 66-year-old overcame the odds and found a new job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Australia overcame an early red card for Miles Amatosero to defeat home side Japan and seal their first win under new head coach Les Kiss, who succeeded Joe Schmidt earlier this year.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The team overcame this obstacle by creating genetically modified "orexin-Cre" rats.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 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
Then suddenly as he fixed the miserable rags round himself a feeling of pity for his ruined body overcame him.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Sly and the Family Stone’s message of overcoming prejudice and treating everyone with dignity, including ourselves, matches their steadfast dedication to making all their fans feel loved, especially children.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
Researchers at Stanford Medicine and collaborating institutions have now developed a strategy aimed at overcoming those obstacles.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
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
He decided to come after spending the night safely with his family and overcoming the initial shock.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
In recent years the sisters had become very close, overcoming an earlier estrangement.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
