OVERTAKE (overtaken, overtook)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: overtaken    , overtook   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does overtake mean? 

• OVERTAKE (verb)
  The verb OVERTAKE has 3 senses:

1. catch up with and possibly overtake

2. travel past

3. overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli

  Familiarity information: OVERTAKE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OVERTAKE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they overtake    ... he / she / it overtakes   
Past simple: overtook   
Past participle: overtaken   
-ing form: overtaking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Catch up with and possibly overtake

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

catch; catch up with; overtake

Context example:

The Rolls Royce caught us near the exit ramp

"Overtake" entails doing...:

compete; contend; vie (compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others)

Verb group:

catch (reach in time)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

overtaking (going by something that is moving in order to get in front of it)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Travel past

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

overhaul; overtake; pass

Context example:

The sports car passed all the trucks

Hypernyms (to "overtake" is one way to...):

advance; go on; march on; move on; pass on; progress (move forward, also in the metaphorical sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "overtake"):

get by (pass or move in front of)

clear; top (pass by, over, or under without making contact)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

These cars won't overtake

Derivation:

overtaking (going by something that is moving in order to get in front of it)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

overcome; overpower; overtake; overwhelm; sweep over; whelm

Hypernyms (to "overtake" is one way to...):

arouse; elicit; enkindle; evoke; fire; kindle; provoke; raise (call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "overtake"):

devastate (overwhelm or overpower)

clutch; get hold of; seize (affect)

kill (overwhelm with hilarity, pleasure, or admiration)

benight (overtake with darkness or night)

knock out (overwhelm with admiration)

stagger (astound or overwhelm, as with shock)

lock (hold fast (in a certain state))

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

 Context examples 

What chance have we now to overtake or even to trace it?

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I walked on so fast that even he could hardly have overtaken me had he tried.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Mary sat down for a moment, but it would not do; she was sure Louisa had found a better seat somewhere else, and she would go on till she overtook her.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

At last she overtook Frederick, who desired her to give him something to eat.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

He had remained on that three-foot path, with sheer wall on one side and sheer drop on the other, until his enemy had overtaken him.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Only for it we should have overtaken the boat long ago; and by now my dear Mina would have been free.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

I was saying so to Emily and Sophia when you overtook us.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Sooner or later he would overtake her.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

If he walked fast he might yet overtake his friends ere they reached their destination.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And when Karduk told him all would he well with him when they had overtaken his tribe, he asked, "And then may I rest and move not?"

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)