overtake
verbEtymology
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.
- inherited from overtaken
Definitions
To pass a slower moving object or entity (on the side closest to oncoming traffic).
- The racehorse overtook the lead pack on the last turn.
- The car was so slow we were overtaken by a bus.
- "I won't over-walk myself," he said, cheerfully. "If the coach doesn't overtake me on the road, I can wait for it where I stop to breakfast. Dry your eyes, my dear; and give me a kiss."
To become greater than something else in quantity, worth, etc.
- Grocery sales in the north have overtaken those in the south.
To take by surprise
To take by surprise; surprise and overcome; carry away.
- Our plans were overtaken by events.
- VVhy didſt thou promiſe ſuch a beautious day, / And make me trauaile forth vvithout my cloake, / To let bace cloudes ore-take me in my vvay, / Hiding thy brau'ry in their rotten ſmoke.
›+ 1 more definitionshow fewer
An act of overtaking
An act of overtaking; an overtaking maneuver.
- There wasn't enough distance left before the bend for an overtake, so I had to trundle behind the tractor for another mile.
The neighborhood
- neighborexceed
- neighborNot to be confused with take over
- neighborsurpass
Derived
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at overtake. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at overtake. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
7 hops · closes at overtake
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA