Synonyms

overtake

American

[oh-ver-teyk] / ˌoʊ vərˈteɪk /

verb (used with object)

overtook, overtaken, overtaking

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.

verb (used without object)

overtook, overtaken, overtaking

to pass another vehicle.

Never overtake on a curve.

overtake British

/ ˌəʊvəˈteɪk /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

unovertaken adjective

Etymology

Origin of overtake

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English overtaken; over-, take

Vocabulary lists containing overtake

"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 2

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

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.

Like artificial intelligence and electric vehicles, biotech in China has taken off in recent years, and Chinese drug research threatens to soon overtake the West’s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

One night earlier, Durant scored 27 points in the Houston Rockets’ 123-122 victory over the Miami Heat to overtake Jordan for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time leading scorer list.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

Lee noted that Arm anticipates data-center business will overtake mobile to become the company’s largest revenue driver in a few years.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026

Thanks to Azure, Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment will soon overtake business software as Microsoft’s largest revenue source.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

As long as he stuck to the trail, I was bound eventually to overtake him.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023