o ‧ ver ‧ take /ˌəʊvəˈteɪk $ ˌoʊvər-/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense overtook /-ˈtʊk/, past participle overtaken /-ˈteɪkən/)
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ takings , ↑ undertaking , ↑ take , ↑ taker ; verb : ↑ take , ↑ overtake , ↑ undertake ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to go past a moving vehicle or person because you are going faster than them and want to get in front of them:
He pulled out to overtake the van.
Never try to overtake on a bend.
2 . [transitive] to develop or increase more quickly than someone or something else and become more successful, more important, or more advanced than them:
Television soon overtook the cinema as the most popular form of entertainment.
Hingis has now overtaken her in the world tennis rankings.
3 . [transitive] if something bad, especially a feeling, overtakes you, it happens to you suddenly and has a strong effect on you ⇨ overcome
be overtaken by something
She was overtaken by emotion and started to cry.
A terrible sense of panic overtook him.
4 . be overtaken by events if you are overtaken by events, the situation changes, so that your plans or ideas are not useful any more:
The diplomatic negotiations were soon overtaken by events.