overcame
- 1Past tense of overcome.
Early settlers overcame harsh winters through careful rationing and mutual aid.
She overcame considerable resistance before her research was finally funded.
Note
The simple past follows the pattern of come and came, so the spelling changes only here. The base form and the past participle are both overcome (she has overcome it; she was overcome). Overcame usually takes a direct object, such as an obstacle, a rival or a difficulty, though it can also stand alone in the sense "prevailed." Keep it out of perfect and passive constructions, where overcome belongs.
- 2Past participle of overcome. Nonstandard; the standard form is overcome.
By graduation she had overcame setbacks that stopped most of her classmates.
We have overcame far tougher odds than these before.
Note
Here the simple past has crept into the slot after have. This is a nonstandard use with a long run: Elijah Goodwin writes "has overcame the sinner's will" in 1845, and Antonia Follenzi and Elza Vigna's 2008 paper on lentiviral vectors says the vectors "have overcame the need." In careful writing, use overcome after have or be, and keep the simple past for plain past statements.
overcame is a form of overcome
overcome, verb: To succeed in getting past or defeating an obstacle, whether physical or abstract; to get the better of it. Full entry
- Forms
- overcome also past participleovercomes he/she/itovercoming -ing formovercame past tense
- Spelling
- overcome → overcame: irregular (no -ed)
Use it in a sentence
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