Overhead

[adverb oh-ver-hed; adjective, noun oh-ver-hed] /adverb ˈoʊ vərˈhɛd; adjective, noun ˈoʊ vərˌhɛd/

adverb
1.
over one’s ; aloft; up in the air or sky, especially near the zenith:
There was a cloud overhead.
2.
so as to be completely submerged or deeply involved:
to plunge overhead in water; to sink overhead in debt.
adjective
3.
situated, operating, or passing above, aloft, or over the :
an overhead sprinkler system.
4.
of or relating to the general cost of running a business:
overhead expenses; an overhead charge.
noun
5.
the general, fixed cost of running a business, as rent, lighting, and heating expenses, which cannot be charged or attributed to a specific product or part of the work operation.
6.
Accounting. that part of manufacturing costs for which cost per unit produced is not readily assignable.
7.
(in a hoistway) the distance between the last floor level served and the beam supporting the hoisting sheaves or machinery.
8.
(in racket sports) a stroke in which the ball or shuttlecock is hit with a downward motion from above the ; smash.
9.
an overhead compartment, shelf, etc.:
Pillows are in the overhead above each passenger’s seat.
10.
Also called overhead shot. Movies, Television. a shot in which the camera is positioned above the actors, especially directly overhead.
11.
a ceiling light in a room:
Turn off the overheads when you leave.
12.
Also called overhead projector. a projector capable of projecting images above and behind the person operating it, thus allowing a lecturer or speaker to remain facing the audience while using it.
13.
Also called overhead projection. a picture or image projected in this manner:
a lecture enhanced with overheads.
adjective (ˈəʊvəˌhɛd)
1.
situated or operating above head height or some other reference level
2.
(prenominal) inclusive: the overhead price included meals
adverb (ˌəʊvəˈhɛd)
3.
over or above head height, esp in the sky
noun (ˈəʊvəˌhɛd)
4.

5.
(nautical) the interior lining above one’s head below decks in a vessel
6.
short for overhead door
7.
(modifier) of, concerned with, or resulting from overheads: overhead costs

1530s, “above one’s head” (adv.), from over- + head. The adjective is attested from 1874. As a noun, short for overhead costs, etc., it is attested from 1914.

All costs of running a business other than wages paid to production workers or payments for raw material to be used in production. Overhead includes the cost of renting or leasing a store in which business is transacted, the cost of heating a factory, and similar expenses.

1. Resources (in computing usually processing time or storage space) consumed for purposes which are incidental to, but necessary to, the main one. Overheads are usually quantifiable “costs” of some kind.
Examples: The overheads in running a business include the cost of heating the building. Keeping a program running all the time eliminates the overhead of loading and initialising it for each transaction. Turning a subroutine into inline code eliminates the call and return time overhead for each execution but introduces space overheads.
2. information, such as control, routing, and error checking characters, that is transmitted along with the user data. It also includes information such as network status or operational instructions, network routing information, and retransmissions of user data received in error.
3. Overhead transparencies or “slides” (usually 8-1/2″ x 11″) that are projected to an audience via an overhead (flatbed) projector.
(1997-09-01)