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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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 Topline Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison overtook Nvidia chief Jensen Huang as the world’s seventh-wealthiest person Monday, increasing his fortune by a few billion dollars as Oracle shares rallied. — Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Sehwan quickly overtook whatever nostalgia had drawn him there in the first place. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 9 Aug. 2026 Wendy's initially overtook Burger King through the success of its nationwide breakfast launch. — Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 7 Aug. 2026 As the novel coronavirus overtook daily life, in the spring of 2020, our celebrities occupied uneasy terrain. — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2026 Graham Platner—who was running competitively in polls against Susan Collins, the Republican senator from Maine, before scandals overtook him—preceded El-Sayed as the movement’s cause célèbre. — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026 Matthews was part of a helitack crew that deployed emergency shelters as fast-moving flames overtook them, killing three colleagues at the scene and injuring him and a colleague. — Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2026 This season, Perez overtook Brett for the most homers at Kauffman Stadium. — Kansas City Star, 25 July 2026 Samsung, which recently eclipsed Apple to reclaim its title as top smartphone maker in the world, overtook central London on Wednesday for its biannual Galaxy Unpacked event, rolling out three new smartphones and a suite of wearable devices. — Marc Saltzman, USA Today, 22 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtook
  1. caught
  2. chased
  3. reached
Verb
  • Tristan Gunn caught the touchdown pass, and back-up quarterback Cade DePriest also had a touchdown pass to Smith Lessard.
    — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The first pick of the second round caught seven passes for 63 yards on his three drives, including two impressive catches on the TD drive.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of caught
Verb
  • Philadelphia Police Department Smith said the suspect chased a man on the west side of 15th Street and then approached a woman jogging at 15th and Market streets.
    — Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • For three years the argument against the entire category was that this line could never flip, that each model generation would cost more than the last while revenue forever chased the compute bill.
    — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of chased
Verb
  • Just last year, the US reached a record high of such attacks, including its first fatality since 2022, according to a report published by the Anti-Defamation League.
    — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
  • This death toll has been reached almost three times faster than in the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa — the worst in history.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 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 19 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on overtook

Nglish: Translation of overtook for Spanish Speakers

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