overcome
o·ver·come/ˌoʊ.vəɹˈkʌm/verb, noun, adjective
overcome is spelled O-V-E-R-C-O-M-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables (o·ver·come). It appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,521st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, overcome means “To surmount (a physical or abstract obstacle); to prevail over, to get the better of” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in overcome?
| Letters | 8: O-V-E-R-C-O-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: o·ver·come |
| In writing | 19 times per million words; the 4,521st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is overcome?
Overcome appears 19 times per million words in written English, the 4,521st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce overcome?
- UK /ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/
- US /ˌoʊ.vəɹˈkʌm/
- Australia /ˌəʉ.vəˈkɐm/
Overcome has 3 syllables, split o·ver·come in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-overcome.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with overcome?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as overcome from its last stressed vowel (/ʌm/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of overcome
- overcomes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- overcoming participle, present
- overcame past
- o'ercome
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does overcome mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To surmount (a physical or abstract obstacle); to prevail over, to get the better of.
- 2
To prevail.
- 3
To recover from (a difficulty), to get over.
- 4
To win against or prevail over in some sort of battle, contest, etc.
to overcome enemies in battle
- 5
To come or pass over; to spread over.
I was overcome with anger.
- 6
obsoleteTo overflow; to surcharge.
noun
- 1
ScotlandThe burden or recurring theme in a song.
- 2
ScotlandA surplus.
adjective
- 1
That has been overcome, prevailed over.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate overcome?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of overcome: OBE.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Overcome in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to surmount, get the better of:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vaincre, surmonter |
| German | überwinden, bewältigen |
| Portuguese | vencer, superar, ultrapassar |
| Spanish | sobreponerse a |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does overcome come from?
Inherited from Middle English overcomen, inherited from Old English ofercuman (“to overcome, subdue, compel, conquer, obtain, attain, reach, overtake”). By surface analysis, over- + come. Cognate with Dutch overkomen, German überkommen, Danish overkomme, Swedish överkomma.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).