overtake

verb

over·​take ˌō-vər-ˈtāk 

overtook ˌō-vər-ˈtu̇k  ; overtaken ˌō-vər-ˈtā-kən  ; overtaking

transitive verb

1

a

: to catch up with

b

: to catch up with and pass by

2

: to come upon suddenly

Synonyms

• catch
• catch up (with)
• overhaul

Examples of overtake in a Sentence

She overtook the other runners and went on to win the race.

The sign says “No Overtaking.”

Seasickness can overtake passengers when the ship encounters a storm.

Recent Examples on the Web

About thirty years ago, Sonny was an ascendant Formula 1 star—cue many hilarious, grainy video clips of a younger Pitt, with a resplendent golden mullet—until his dreams were dashed by a near-fatal accident, during an attempt to overtake the three-time Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 June 2025

Earlier this week, Nielsen reported that streaming recently overtook broadcast and cable viewing combined for the first time since Nielsen began tracking this data in May 2021. —ArsTechnica, 18 June 2025

Elon Musk is launching a pilot program in Austin next week, claiming Tesla can overtake the Alphabet Inc. unit in autonomous driving using a much cheaper system. —Alan Ohnsman, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025

Norris initially overtook Piastri on the hairpin, but Piastri reclaimed the position on the long straight and into the final chicane. —Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 16 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from over entry 1 + taken to take

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for overtake

• rattlesnake
• shiitake
• undertake
• wapentake
• ache
• ake
• bake
• brake
• break
• cake
• craik
• crake

Kids Definition

overtake

verb

over·​take ˌō-vər-ˈtāk 

overtook -ˈtu̇k  ; overtaken -ˈtā-kən  ; overtaking

1

a

: to catch up with

b

: to catch up with and pass by

2

: to come upon suddenly

a blizzard overtook the hunting party