Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

overtake

/əʊ̯vəːˈteɪ̯k/ verb

In Latin: adipiscor Wiktionary

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about overtake at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Catch up with and possibly overtake.
The Rolls Royce caught us near the exit ramp
Travel past.
The sports car passed all the trucks
Overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli.

Origin

From Middle English overtaken, likely a replacement alteration (as the Middle English verb taken replaced nimen (“to take”)), of Middle English overnimen (“to overtake”), from Old English oferniman (“to take by surprise, overtake”), equivalent to over- + take.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word