overtook

verb

past tense of overtake
as in caught
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of overtook In the private school realm, Grapevine Faith overtook Fort Worth Christian with a head-to-head win over the Cardinals. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Oct. 2026 France will deploy around 70,000 police and gendarmes nationwide on Saturday, including elite counterterrorism units, as the government seeks to prevent a repeat of last weekend’s widespread rioting and looting that overtook peaceful protests. — Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026 President Emmanuel Macron has been the primary target of scorn following nationwide riots that overtook Paris and other cities, but the insurgent National Rally does not want to let mainstream conservatives off the hook. — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 22 Oct. 2026 The direct discussion between the teams never materialized until the end, when Miami finally overtook Notre Dame. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026 The United Kingdom acquiesced when the United States overtook it. — Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026 The fire overtook soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, and Army reservists conducting live-fire training. — Rob Gillies, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026 But when the track dropped out for a few moments, a confused silence overtook the 6,000-strong audience. — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 19 Oct. 2026 Shawn Curtis and his dog Lux escaped through Curtis' bedroom window when waves overtook his apartment. — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtook
  1. caught
  2. chased
  3. reached
Verb
  • Her singing caught the attention of Abboud Saadi, the bassist for Lebanon’s most famous singer, Fairuz, who invited her to a recording session with Bypass Studio owner Ziad Rahbani.
    — Shy Clara Thompson, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Following her death, Trail dismembered Loofe’s body to avoid getting caught.
    — Samantha Bergeson, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of caught
Verb
  • Quarterback Ryan Rakowski of Palos Verdes High was rolling right while being chased.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Hayden said 32-year-old Lemark Jaramillo had chased a 17-year-old boy into the restaurant and was trying to stab him in retaliation for a fight that happened moments before at a nearby Chipotle.
    — Neal Riley, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of chased
Verb
  • Today, our constructor has reached into his evidently limitless bag of tricks to pull out a doozy of a Thursday grid.
    — Sean McGowan, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Disenchantment with the current political and economic system has also reached a point where socialism has grown more popular among Americans.
    — Chad de Guzman, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of reached

Browse Nearby Words

overtones
overtook
overtop
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Cite this Entry

“Overtook.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtook. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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