overhead

Other forms: overheads

Anything that's located above you is overhead — it’s literally over your head. An overhead compartment on an airplane is a good place to stash your carry-on suitcase. Overhead is also the money it takes to run a business.

Overhead works as both an adjective and an adverb: "An overhead view of the football field gives the spectators a better idea of the game, and a drone flying overhead is the perfect way to achieve it." There's also an overhead stroke in tennis, an overhead projector showing a movie in science class, and the overhead, or up-front expenses, that a new business requires.

Definitions of overhead

1. adjective

   located or originating from above
   “an overhead crossing”

   antonyms:

   surface

   on the surface

   subsurface

   beneath the surface

   aboveground

   on or above the surface of the ground

   grade-constructed

   constructed at ground level

   opencast, opencut

   (of mines and mining) worked from the exposed surface

   belowground, underground

   under the level of the ground

   submarine, undersea

   beneath the surface of the sea

   submerged, submersed, underwater

   beneath the surface of the water

   subterranean, subterraneous

   being or operating under the surface of the earth
2. noun

   (nautical) the top surface of an enclosed space on a ship
   type of:

   ceiling

   the overhead upper surface of a covered space
3. noun

   a hard return hitting the tennis ball above your head
   synonyms: smash

   type of:

   return

   a tennis stroke that sends the ball back to the other player
4. adverb

   above the head; over the head
   “bring the legs together overhead”
5. adverb

   above your head; in the sky
   “planes were flying overhead”
6. noun

   the expense of maintaining property (e.g., paying property taxes and utilities and insurance); it does not include depreciation or the cost of financing or income taxes
   synonyms: budget items, operating cost, operating expense

   type of:

   disbursal, disbursement, expense

   amounts paid for goods and services that may be currently tax deductible (as opposed to capital expenditures)
7. noun

   (computer science) the processing time required by a device prior to the execution of a command
   synonyms: command overhead, command processing overhead, command processing overhead time

   type of:

   processing time

   the time it takes to complete a prescribed procedure
8. noun

   (computer science) the disk space required for information that is not data but is used for location and timing
   synonyms: disk overhead

   type of:

   disc space, disk space

   (computer science) the space available on a magnetic disk
9. noun

   a transparency for use with an overhead projector
   synonyms: viewgraph

   type of:

   foil, transparency

   picture consisting of a positive photograph or drawing on a transparent base; viewed with a projector