Other forms: overcoming, overcame, overcomes
To overcome is to beat a difficulty that once beat you. Overcome the obstacle, overcome her fear, overcome by illness.
The past tense is overcame and the participle overcome, which is the same as the base form — a trap in writing. Overcome by is a passive use meaning overwhelmed: overcome by smoke, overcome with emotion. It is one of the standard verbs of the personal narrative, which is why it sounds slightly heroic. Note overcoming as a noun, and We Shall Overcome, the civil rights anthem.
1verbovercomeTo beat a difficulty.
“She overcame her fear of flying and finally visited her sister in Australia.”
2verboverwhelmTo overwhelm somebody.
“Two firefighters were overcome by smoke.”
overcome is a defeating.
Also accepted in games: conquer
Old English ofercuman is over plus come — to come over something. English built many of these over- verbs, and this is one of the few whose literal sense is entirely gone.
Old English
ofercuman<t:to overcome, subdue, compel, conquer, obtain, attain, reach, overtake>
Middle English
overcomen
English, today
overcome
Middle English overcomen, Old English ofercuman. by surface analysis, over- + come. Cognate with Dutch overkomen, German überkommen, Danish overkomme, Swedish överkomma.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA