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

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.

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

"With the overtake mode, the driver behind can use the boost button up to I think 330km/h, where the guy in the front can only use it to 290km/h," Russell said.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 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

Even Apollo for a few minutes was hard put to it to overtake her; still, of course, he soon gained.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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