Verb

To surmount (a physical or abstract obstacle); to prevail over, to get the better of.

:to overcome enemies in battle

*Spenser

*:This wretched woman overcome / Of anguish, rather than of crime, hath been.

*1898 , , (Moonfleet), Ch.4:

*:By and by fumes of brandy began to fill the air, and climb to where I lay, overcoming the mouldy smell of decayed wood and the dampness of the green walls.

(obsolete) To win (a battle).

*:

*:Ther with all cam kyng Arthur but with a fewe peple and slewe on the lyfte hand and on the ryght hand that wel nyhe ther escaped no man / but alle were slayne to the nombre of xxx M / And whan the bataille was all ended the kynge kneled doune and thanked god mekely / and thenne he sente for the quene and soone she was come / and she maade grete Ioye of the ouercomynge of that bataille

To win or prevail in some sort of battle, contest, etc.

:

*

, chapter=2, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired. And if the arts of humbleness failed him, he overcame you by sheer impudence.}}

(usually in passive) To overwhelm with emotion.

:

To come or pass over; to spread over.

*Shakespeare

*:And overcome us like a summer's cloud.

To overflow; to surcharge.

:

Verb

(en verb)

To undergo hardship.

To feel pain.

To have a disease or condition.

To become worse.

To endure, undergo.

* Shakespeare

If your more ponderous and settled project / May suffer alteration.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-06, volume=408, issue=8843, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= The rise of smart beta , passage=Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.}}

(archaic) To allow.

* The U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 203:

"Employ" includes to suffer or permit to work.

* Section 31-36 of the Code of Montgomery County, Maryland:

*KJV, Matthew 19:14

*:But Jesus said, suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.