overtake

[ oh-ver-teyk ]

/ ˌoʊ vərˈteɪk /

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See synonyms for: overtake / overtaken / overtook on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), o·ver·took

[oh-ver-took], /ˌoʊ vərˈtʊk/, o·ver·tak·en, o·ver·tak·ing.

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), o·ver·took

[oh-ver-took], /ˌoʊ vərˈtʊk/, o·ver·tak·en, o·ver·tak·ing.

to pass another vehicle: Never overtake on a curve.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of overtake

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

OTHER WORDS FROM overtake

un·o·ver·tak·en, adjective

Words nearby overtake

overstuffed, oversubscribe, oversupply, overswing, overt, overtake, overtask, overtax, over-the-air, over the counter, over the edge

How to use overtake in a sentence

Print revenues are a bleaker picture, contributing to The Wall Street Journal reporting that digital ad revenues have overtaken print for the first time.
‘It’s less dire than it seemed to be’: How The Wall Street Journal’s digital ads business has weathered the downturn|Lucinda Southern|August 20, 2020|Digiday
You also forecast that, by 2035, China will overtake the United States as the largest economy.
How Rising Education for Women Is Shaping the Global Population - Facts So Romantic|Kiki Sanford|August 19, 2020|Nautilus
Both executives have helped steer the company through its digital transformation and, in the second quarter, its digital revenue overtook its print revenue for the first time.
How the world’s biggest media companies fared through the ongoing crisis in Q2|Lara O'Reilly|August 12, 2020|Digiday
That level of error correction should noticeably extend the time before errors overtake the qubit.
To live up to the hype, quantum computers must repair their error problems|Emily Conover|June 22, 2020|Science News

In short, experimental science needs to overtake the observational science that has dominated the field.
Random Search Wired Into Animals May Help Them Hunt|Liam Drew|June 11, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Their role, Sudani said, is not to overtake the Iraqi military but to help it.
Baghdad’s Shia Militia Plans for War on ISIS|Jacob Siegel|July 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Uganda has intervened on the side of the Government of South Sudan, including providing air support to overtake opposition forces.
Before There’s a Genocide: The Slaughter in South Sudan Must Stop|Justine Fleischner, John Prendergast|April 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This year, as CNBC reports, technology could overtake apparel as the go-to gift.
Walmart’s Black Thanksgiving Woes|Daniel Gross, Nico Hines|November 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
If the recount would have continued on Dec. 9, Gore would not have picked up enough overvotes to overtake Bush.
What if the Supreme Court Had Declined to Hear Bush v. Gore?|Megan McArdle|April 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When he finally goes to see a dentist, he learns that he has an abscess: the tooth is rotten, threatening to overtake his jaw.
‘Mad Men’ Returns: A Recap of Season Five|Jace Lacob|April 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
On the broken porch of the abandoned house Amy stopped and waited for her chum to overtake her.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn|Margaret Penrose
In tax-paying circles it is said that the fashionable thing will be to start now and let the airship overtake you if it can.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 158, April 28, 1920|Various
The laws of the Church of God remain immutable, amid the changes that overtake the various communities of men.
The Ordinance of Covenanting|John Cunningham
Walk while ye have the light that darkness overtake you not: and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
His Last Week|William E. Barton
Moreover, he continued his swift course, always approaching and tending to overtake the slower bodies that preceded him, viz.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer

British Dictionary definitions for overtake

overtake

/ (ˌəʊvəˈteɪk) /

verb -takes, -taking, -took or -taken

mainly British 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 unexpectedlynight 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

overtake

Origin of overtake

OTHER WORDS FROM overtake

Words nearby overtake

Words related to overtake

How to use overtake in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for overtake