as in catching
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 overtaking
Thousands of sea cucumbers are overtaking the beach in a coastal town.
—
Staff, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Plummeting Indian student arrivals Last year, India sent more students to the US than any other country, overtaking the number of Chinese students for the first time in 15 years with more than 330,000 Indian nationals enrolled at American universities.
—Ivan Watson, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2025
However, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression warns against campus protesters overtaking speakers' ability to express their views.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 21 Oct. 2025
Adebayo is also on his way to overtaking Udonis Haslem as the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder within the next two seasons.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
Tall grass also shades weed seedlings, preventing them from expanding and overtaking desirable grass plants, better than short turf.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2025
Norris lost a place to Leclerc and spent more than 20 laps squabbling with the Ferrari driver before overtaking him.
—Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025
In mere hours, the river rose by many feet, the authorities and residents said, overtaking its banks and pouring into people’s homes, including in Poza Rica, a small working-class city in Veracruz State.
—Cristopher Rogel Blanquet, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
And for the first half of 2025, record solar and steady wind growth led to renewables overtaking coal generation globally for the first time on record, according to a new report from Ember, an independent global energy think tank.
—Daniel Peck, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2025
Staff, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Plummeting Indian student arrivals Last year, India sent more students to the US than any other country, overtaking the number of Chinese students for the first time in 15 years with more than 330,000 Indian nationals enrolled at American universities.
—Ivan Watson, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2025
However, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression warns against campus protesters overtaking speakers' ability to express their views.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 21 Oct. 2025
Adebayo is also on his way to overtaking Udonis Haslem as the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder within the next two seasons.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
Tall grass also shades weed seedlings, preventing them from expanding and overtaking desirable grass plants, better than short turf.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2025
Norris lost a place to Leclerc and spent more than 20 laps squabbling with the Ferrari driver before overtaking him.
—Sahil Kapur, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025
In mere hours, the river rose by many feet, the authorities and residents said, overtaking its banks and pouring into people’s homes, including in Poza Rica, a small working-class city in Veracruz State.
—Cristopher Rogel Blanquet, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
And for the first half of 2025, record solar and steady wind growth led to renewables overtaking coal generation globally for the first time on record, according to a new report from Ember, an independent global energy think tank.
—Daniel Peck, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overtaking
Verb
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Since posting, Watt’s video has gone viral, even catching the attention of the Live Like Maddie Foundation, which thanked her for capturing the magic and shared her clip to help promote next year’s event.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Filmmaking is catching inspiration on the wing.—
Susan Sontag,
Vogue,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Hundreds more members of law enforcement –– local, state and federal –– worked the case, at one point searching more than 500 homes and 1,000 vehicles and chasing hundreds of leads.—
Dakin Andone,
CNN Money,
26 Oct. 2025
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The man told the officer that a woman was chasing him and trying to hit him with her vehicle.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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According to the New York Times, the Category 5 hurricane is expected to make landfall later today, Tuesday, October 28, with authorities warning of torrential rain, severe flooding and storm surges reaching up to 13 feet along the island’s southern coast.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Oct. 2025
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This was a momentous development for child-care proponents such as myself, who have long argued that wide-reaching free programs are crucial for parents and for a healthy democracy.—
Elliot Haspel,
The Atlantic,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overtaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overtaking. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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