/ ˌəʊvəˈteɪk; NAmE ˌoʊvərˈt-/ verb ( over·took / -ˈtʊk; NAmE / over·taken / -ˈteɪkən; NAmE /)
1.
( especially BrE ) to go past a moving vehicle or person ahead of you because you are going faster than they are :
[ vn ]
He pulled out to overtake a truck.
[ v ]
It's dangerous to overtake on a bend.
2.
[ vn ] to become greater in number, amount or importance than sth else
SYN outstrip :
Nuclear energy may overtake oil as the main fuel.
We mustn't let ourselves be overtaken by our competitors.
3.
[ vn ] [ often passive ] if sth unpleasant overtakes a person, it unexpectedly starts to happen and to affect them :
The climbers were overtaken by bad weather.
Sudden panic overtook her.
Our original plan was overtaken by events (= the situation changed very rapidly) and we had to make a new one.