Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
overtake - 4 dictionary results

o⋅ver⋅take

  [oh-ver-teyk] verb, -took, -tak⋅en, -tak⋅ing.
Use overtake in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. 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.
2. to catch up with and pass, as in a race; move by: He overtook the leader three laps from the finish.
3. to move ahead of in achievement, production, score, etc.; surpass: to overtake all other countries in steel production.
4. 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)
5. to pass another vehicle: Never overtake on a curve.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME overtaken; see over-, take
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To overtake
o·ver·take   (ō'vər-tāk')   
tr.v.   o·ver·took (-tŏŏk'), o·ver·tak·en (-tā'kən), o·ver·tak·ing, o·ver·takes
    1. To catch up with; draw even or level with.
    2. To pass after catching up with.
  2. To come upon unexpectedly; take by surprise: geopolitical strategists who were overtaken by events in southeast Asia.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Overtake

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : overtake
Spanish: adelantar,
German: überholen,
Japanese: 追い越す
More Translations »

overtake 
"to come up to, to catch in pursuit," c.1225 (implied in pp. ouer-token), from over + take (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see overtake on Thesaurus | Reference