overtake
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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to catch up with and pass, as in a race; move by.
He overtook the leader three laps from the finish.
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to move ahead of in achievement, production, score, etc.; surpass.
to overtake all other countries in steel production.
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to happen to or befall someone suddenly or unexpectedly, as night, a storm, or death.
The pounding rainstorm overtook them just outside the city.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to move past (another vehicle or person) travelling in the same direction
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(tr) to pass or do better than, after catching up with
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(tr) to come upon suddenly or unexpectedly
night overtook him
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(tr) to catch up with; draw level with
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of overtake
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English overtaken; see over-, take
Vocabulary lists containing overtake
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.
But, thus far, that has not been enough for Steyer to overtake Becerra.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
Bournemouth and Brighton could still overtake Liverpool in the race for the Champions League, with both sides yet to play their penultimate games.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
His omnipresence in public recently has sparked conversations about whether he could overtake Vice President J.D.
From Slate • May 9, 2026
Leclerc, who has spent more than 20 years mastering the art of the overtake since his days in go-karts, compared the whole thing to a videogame power-up: “This is like a mushroom in Mario Kart.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
‘There will be no escape again, if we do not contrive it. How that is to be done cannot be guessed, but first we must overtake them.’
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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.
