What does "overcome" mean?

1. (to solve a problem) to successfully deal with a difficult situation or problem. 2. (to defeat an opponent) to defeat someone in a competition, fight, or war. 3. (overwhelmed by emotion) to be so affected by a strong emotion that you cannot act or speak normally.

overcome

v. · adj.

US //ˈoʊvɝˌkəm// UK //ˌəʊvəkˈʌm// over·come

Irregular verb past overcame past participle overcome

1 to solve a problem (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to successfully deal with a difficult situation or problem.

to surmount or prevail over a physical or abstract obstacle. Transitive — requires a direct object.

Example

She had to overcome many challenges to finish her university degree while working.

Example

The startup eventually managed to overcome its initial funding shortfall by securing a series of private investments from local angel groups.
- surmount
- conquer
- master
- fail
- yield
2 to defeat an opponent (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to defeat someone in a competition, fight, or war.

to prevail over an adversary in a contest, battle, or struggle.

Example

The team worked together to overcome their rivals in the final minutes of the game.

Example

Historical accounts suggest the smaller army was able to overcome the invaders through superior knowledge of the mountainous terrain.
- defeat
- vanquish
- beat
- lose
- surrender

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3 overwhelmed by emotion (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to be so affected by a strong emotion that you cannot act or speak normally.

to be overwhelmed or incapacitated by a powerful emotional state or physical condition. Often used in the passive voice with 'by' or 'with'.

Example

He was overcome with grief when he heard the sad news.

Example

The witness was so overcome by emotion that the judge had to call for a brief recess to allow her to recover her composure.
- indifferent
- unmoved

Origin

Inherited from Middle English overcomen, inherited from Old English ofercuman (“to overcome, subdue, compel, conquer, obtain, attain, reach, overtake”). By surface analysis, over- + come. Cognate with Dutch overkomen, German überkommen, Danish overkomme, Swedish överkomma.