# overcome

Pronunciation: US say "oh-vur-KUM" /ˌoʊ.vəɹˈkʌm/; say "oh-vuh-KUM" UK /ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/, AUS /ˌəʉ.vəˈkɐm/

## Verb

1. To succeed in getting past or defeating an obstacle, whether physical or abstract; to get the better of it.
   - Simple: To get past something that blocks your way or makes life hard.
   - _With years of practice, he overcame his stutter._
   - _New technologies help engineers overcome problems that once seemed impossible._
2. To recover from a difficulty or painful experience; to get over it.
   - Simple: To get better after something hard or painful has happened to you.
   - _After months of counseling, she overcame the trauma of the accident._
   - _Communities can overcome even severe disasters when neighbors support one another._
3. To win against or prevail over an opponent in a battle, contest, or similar struggle.
   - Simple: To beat someone in a fight, game, or contest.
   - _The rebels overcame the garrison after a three-day siege._
   - _Underdogs sometimes overcome far stronger opponents through sheer preparation._
4. To prevail; to succeed or be victorious in the end, especially after a long struggle.
   - Simple: To win in the end after a long, hard struggle.
   - _Through every hardship, the settlers endured and overcame._
   - _A quiet faith that good will overcome runs through the entire novel._
6. To come or pass over something; to spread across it.
   - Simple: To move across something and slowly cover it.
   - _A deep flush overcame her face when her name was called._
   - _Morning mists overcome the lowlands at dawn and burn off by midmorning._

## Adjective

5. Defeated or overpowered; subdued by an opposing force, condition, or strong emotion.
   - Simple: Beaten or made helpless by something stronger, such as smoke or a strong feeling.
   - _Overcome by exhaustion, the climbers stopped short of the summit._
   - _He stood at the podium, visibly overcome, unable to finish his speech._

## Noun

7. The burden or refrain of a song; the recurring line or theme it keeps returning to. *(dialectal, Scotland)*
   - Simple: The part of a song that comes back again and again.
   - _The fiddler led each verse, and the whole room sang the overcome._
   - _Its mournful overcome stayed with her long after the ballad ended._
8. A surplus; an amount remaining beyond what is needed or used. *(dialectal, Scotland)*
   - Simple: An extra amount that is left over after you have used what you need.
   - _Any overcome from the harvest went into the parish store._
   - _The treasurer reported a modest overcome at the year's end._

## Verb

9. To overflow, or to fill and burden something beyond what it can hold. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To flow over the edge of something, or to fill it too full.
   - _The autumn rains overcame the millpond and flooded the lane below._
   - _Careless pouring will overcome the vessel and waste the wine._

## Origin

From Middle English overcomen, from Old English ofercuman ("to overcome, subdue, conquer, obtain, reach"), formed from over- plus come. It is related to Dutch overkomen, German überkommen, Danish overkomme, and Swedish överkomma.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/overcome (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).