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

The Tampa Bay Lightning have overtaken them for second place by the tiebreaker. —Joshua Kloke, The Athletic, 16 Mar. 2025

Behind the Nissan Leaf, a driver of an Audi was having none of this careful robot driving malarkey and overtook us both at speed and clearly with some frustration. —Carlton Reid, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025

Assuming real-life events don’t overtake it, the story allegedly takes place in the White House during a missile attack on America and stars Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson and Jason Clarke. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 13 Mar. 2025

With a thickness of just 6.25 mm, it is expected to overtake the iPhone 6 (6.9mm) as the thinnest iPhone ever. —Jibin Joseph, PCMAG, 12 Mar. 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