overtaken
/ˈəʊvəɹteɪkən/
overtaken is the past participle of overtake.
Adjective
overtaken (comparative more overtaken, superlative most overtaken)
- Taken by surprise; overcome.
- I was overtaken by events.
- drunk; intoxicated
- Indeed, he was 'dithguthted' at his condition; and if upon the occasion just described he had allowed himself to be somewhat 'intoxicated with liquor,' I must aver that I do not recollect another instance in which this worthy little gentleman suffered himself to be similarly overtaken. Now and then...1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard
- Once John, being overtaken in drink on the roadside by the cottage, and dreaming that he was burning in hell, awoke and saw the old wife hobbling toward him. Thereupon he fled soberly to the hills, and from that day became a quiet-living, humble-minded Christian.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
Meaning of overtake
Verb
overtake (third-person singular simple present overtakes, present participle overtaking, simple past overtook, past participle overtaken)
- To pass a slower moving object or entity (on the side closest to oncoming traffic).
- The racehorse overtook the lead pack on the last turn.
- Synonyms:
- forge
- Antonyms:
- undertake[curbside]]>
- To become greater than something else in quantity, worth, etc.
- Grocery sales in the north have overtaken those in the south.
- To take by surprise; surprise and overcome; carry away.
- Our plans were overtaken by events.
Synonyms of overtaken
Forms of overtaken
| comparative | more overtaken |
|---|---|
| superlative | most overtaken |
Words formed from overtaken
Words that rhyme with overtaken
Questions about overtaken
- What does overtaken mean?
- Overtaken means taken by surprise; overcome.
- What is overtaken the past participle of?
- Overtaken is the past participle of overtake.
- What part of speech is overtaken?
- Overtaken is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce overtaken?
- Overtaken is pronounced /ˈəʊvəɹteɪkən/.
Words near overtaken in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: overtaken (page history and authors); overtake (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-overtaken.ogg.
Cite this entry: “overtaken.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/overtaken. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.