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overtake

From Wiktionary

Word parts

[change]

over- + take

Pronunciation

[change]

Verb

[change]

Plain form
overtake

Third-person singular
overtakes

Past tense
overtook

Past participle
overtaken

Present participle
overtaking

  1. (transitive) To overtake is to catch up to and then pass or do better than something.
    He had to really increase his speed to overtake her car on the freeway.
    There was an overtaking lane on the road to allow cars to get passed the slow moving trucks going up the hills.
  2. (transitive) If something overtakes you, you are not ready, you are surprised, and overwhelmed by it.
    The government's reforms were overtaken by the mass demonstrations which called for big changes in the laws.