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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Recent Examples of overtakes
The convergence of Iowa State fans to Power & Light or the sea of blue that overtakes downtown this week or the plethora of NBA general managers in the front rows offered enough of a reminder that Kansas City didn’t need.
—
Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2026
Paranoia overtakes several players who vie for protection.
—Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2026
When exhaustion overtakes them, something more sinister comes creeping from the shadows.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 15 Feb. 2026
Afterward, Agnes and I were felled by the kind of hunger that overtakes only those who have exerted themselves in cold weather.
—Boris Fishman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
The show overtakes confrontation, less as a strategy than as a compromise no one remembers agreeing to.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Opposition occurs when Earth, moving faster in its orbit than Jupiter, overtakes the giant planet.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 7 Jan. 2026
Ancestors are memorialized but then assured that the rum still flows as drunkenness overtakes our narrator.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
But director Kurtis David Harder (Influencer) imbues the proceedings with a slow-boiling paranoid energy that slowly overtakes the film.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025
Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2026
Paranoia overtakes several players who vie for protection.
—Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2026
When exhaustion overtakes them, something more sinister comes creeping from the shadows.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 15 Feb. 2026
Afterward, Agnes and I were felled by the kind of hunger that overtakes only those who have exerted themselves in cold weather.
—Boris Fishman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
The show overtakes confrontation, less as a strategy than as a compromise no one remembers agreeing to.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Opposition occurs when Earth, moving faster in its orbit than Jupiter, overtakes the giant planet.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 7 Jan. 2026
Ancestors are memorialized but then assured that the rum still flows as drunkenness overtakes our narrator.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
But director Kurtis David Harder (Influencer) imbues the proceedings with a slow-boiling paranoid energy that slowly overtakes the film.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtakes
Verb
-
But beyond the watches, what immediately catches the eye upon entering the space is a floor-to-ceiling wall covered in live local greenery.—
Paige Reddinger,
Robb Report,
3 Apr. 2026
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But when this happens, what catches many people off guard isn't the garnishment itself, as there are plenty of warning signs beforehand.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Or do coaches even matter and everyone just chases the bag?—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2026
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Both trials — one in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the other in Los Angeles — pointed to the struggles Meta has faced to adequately police Facebook and Instagram, which remain the primary cash engines as the company chases Google, OpenAI and Anthropic in artificial intelligence.—
Ari Levy,
CNBC,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The likelihood of lightning increases as a thunderstorm gets closer and reaches its highest point when the storm is directly overhead.—
STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Apr. 2026
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Instead of collapsing indefinitely or evaporating completely through Hawking radiation, the black hole reaches a stable state.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Overtakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtakes. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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