Which to use
“overtook” and “overwork” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,658
- “overtook” frequency rank
- #46,098
- “overwork” frequency rank
- 74756
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | overtook | overwork |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past of overtake | To make (someone or something) work too hard. |
Where the eye mixes overtook and overwork
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: overtook vs overwork
A purely visual mix-up. overtook (/oʊ.vɚˈtʊk/) and overwork (/ˌəʊvəˈwɜːk/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
overtook is recorded at frequency rank #28,658, classified as averb, pronounced /oʊ.vɚˈtʊk/. overwork is at rank #46,098, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˌəʊvəˈwɜːk/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 74756, this pair ranks #35,302 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of overtook vs overwork
Shared letters: ekorv. Private to "overtook": t. Private to "overwork": w.
"overtook" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVVC · "overwork" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "overtook" and "overwork" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "overtook" or "overwork"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "overtook" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "overwork" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #35,302 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "overtook" and "overwork" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "overwork vs overworked". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #35,302 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.