Crossword Genius

Across river, foe ultimately gets defeated (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

overcame

'defeated' is the definition.
(overcoming is a kind of defeating)

'across river foe ultimately' is the wordplay.
'across' becomes 'over' ('over' can be a synonym of 'across').
'river' becomes 'cam' (I've seen this before**).
'ultimately' indicates one should take the final letters.
The last letter of 'foe' is 'e'.
'over'+'cam'+'e'='OVERCAME'

'gets' is the link.

(Other definitions for overcame that I've seen before include "prevailed" , "Conquered" , "Beat (someone)" , "Defeated or got over" , "Got the better of" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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