overtake

/ˌəʊvəˈteɪk/ verb (past tense overtook, past participle overtaken)

Definition

MORE SUCCESSFUL [T] › to become more successful than someone or something else: Tobacco has overtaken coffee to become the country's leading export.

GO PAST [I, T] › to go past a vehicle or person that is going in the same direction: It's dangerous to overtake on a bend.

(Definition of overtake verb from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

+ Free Dictionary Toolbar for Browsers
+ Add Dictionary Search to iGoogle and your website

+ Become a fan on Facebook
+ Follow us on Twitter!

Our dictionaries

British English
American English
Business English
Learner's Dictionary
Essential British English
Essential American English
English-Spanish
Español-inglés
English-Turkish

Browse the Thesaurus

Business
Clothes
Education
Finance
Light and colour
Personal care

“overtake” in other dictionaries

in Spanish
in Turkish

British English
American English
Business English

Browse the Dictionary

oversight noun
oversleep verb
overstate verb
overstep verb
overt adjective
overtake verb
overthrow verb
overtime noun
overtones noun
overtook
overture noun

Word of the Day

a cloud on the horizon

something which threatens to cause problems or unhappiness in the future

Word of the Day ►

Blog

Read our blog about how the English language behaves.

Learn More ►

New Words

Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.