as in catches
to move fast enough to get even with
she had to hurry to overtake her friends, who had forgotten their umbrellas the thunderstorm overtook them suddenly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of overtakes
Set in a small town in King’s home state of Maine, The Mist follows a group of characters who take shelter in a grocery store when a mysterious fog filled with eldritch monsters overtakes the town.
—
James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Hype eclipses cash flows, and momentum overtakes fundamentals, leaving individual investors exposed to costly swings.
—Anmol Verma, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Pete doesn't get far before the cold overtakes him.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025
Kyle Schwarber overtakes Shohei Ohtani on the Great Race!
—Andrew Wright, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
Authorities want people to leave before seawater overtakes Highway 12, the main road connecting a long string of North Carolina communities.
—Bill Chappell, NPR, 19 Aug. 2025
As the beauty cycle continues, Paris Fashion Week overtakes award show season this week, inviting celebrities to the front row for gag-worthy, high fashion moments.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 10 Mar. 2025
Terror overtakes her body; arms flail against a pipe; her legs bang the ground.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 5 Mar. 2025
The increase to 5 percent would mean Lithuania overtakes Poland as the NATO country spending the most on defense as a percentage of its GDP.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 16 Feb. 2025
James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Hype eclipses cash flows, and momentum overtakes fundamentals, leaving individual investors exposed to costly swings.
—Anmol Verma, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Pete doesn't get far before the cold overtakes him.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025
Kyle Schwarber overtakes Shohei Ohtani on the Great Race!
—Andrew Wright, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025
Authorities want people to leave before seawater overtakes Highway 12, the main road connecting a long string of North Carolina communities.
—Bill Chappell, NPR, 19 Aug. 2025
As the beauty cycle continues, Paris Fashion Week overtakes award show season this week, inviting celebrities to the front row for gag-worthy, high fashion moments.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 10 Mar. 2025
Terror overtakes her body; arms flail against a pipe; her legs bang the ground.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 5 Mar. 2025
The increase to 5 percent would mean Lithuania overtakes Poland as the NATO country spending the most on defense as a percentage of its GDP.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 16 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtakes
Verb
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If your application catches FIFA’s eye, the next step is an invitation to Volunteer Team Tryouts, which run from October through January 2026.—
Meredith Heil Bock,
AFAR Media,
18 Sep. 2025
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Alphonse Pierre’s Off the Dome column covers songs, mixtapes, albums, scenes, snippets, movies, Meek Mill tweets, fashion trends—and anything else that catches his attention.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Advertisement Cherry, freed from police custody, shows up at the house, and Laura chases her up and down the stairs with a knife.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
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For example, much of the industry chases bragging rights on public benchmarks, which rank models on tasks like math or logic puzzles.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The rioting reaches our street after midnight.—
Sara Stridsberg
September 15,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
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Haaland spots the gap in United’s defence and attacks it, but Reijnders’ pass reaches O’Reilly.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overtakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtakes. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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