OVERTAKE

overtake, catch, catch up with

(verb) catch up with and possibly overtake; “The Rolls Royce caught us near the exit ramp”

overwhelm, overpower, sweep over, whelm, overcome, overtake

(verb) overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli

pass, overtake, overhaul

(verb) travel past; “The sports car passed all the trucks”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

overtake (third-person singular simple present overtakes, present participle overtaking, simple past overtook, past participle overtaken)

To pass a more slowly moving object or entity.

(economics) To become greater than something else

To occur unexpectedly; take by surprise; surprise and overcome; carry away

Anagrams

• take over, takeover

Source: Wiktionary


O`ver*take", v. t. [imp. Overtook; p. p. Overtaken; p. pr. & vb. n. Overtaking.]

1. To come up with in a course, pursuit, progress, or motion; to catch up with. Follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say . . . Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for good. Gen. xliv. 4. He had him overtaken in his flight. Spenser.

2. To come upon from behind; to discover; to surprise; to capture; to overcome. If a man be overtaken in a fault. Gal. vi. 1 I shall see The winged vengeance overtake such children. Shak.

3. Hence, figuratively, in the past participle (overtaken), drunken. [Obs.] Holland.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

6 June 2025

PUNGENCY

(noun) wit having a sharp and caustic quality; “he commented with typical pungency”; “the bite of satire”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world, next to crude oil. It’s also one of the oldest commodities, with over 2.25 billion cups of coffee consumed worldwide daily.

coffee icon