Catching up to and passing someone or something that's ahead of you, either literally or figuratively.
From 'over-' (beyond) and 'take,' which comes from Old Norse 'taka.' This compound formed naturally to describe the action of going beyond someone by catching and passing them.
In British English, 'overtaking' specifically means passing another car on the road, while in American English we say 'passing'—it's a great example of how the same concept gets different words in different English varieties!
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