overhead
/'ouvəhed/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Located or originating from above: Refers to something positioned higher than the head or coming from a higher position.
- Operating or situated above a certain level: Often used for systems or structures that are elevated.
Adverb:
- Above the head; over the head: Indicates a position directly above.
- In the sky; above: Refers to something happening or located in the air above.
Noun:
- A stroke in sports: In tennis or badminton, a hard return hit with the arm above the head.
- The top surface of an enclosed space: On a ship, the ceiling of a cabin or compartment.
- A transparency for projection: A sheet of film used with an overhead projector to display images.
- Computing resource consumption: The disk space or processing time required by a system for non-data tasks like management and control.
- Business operating expenses: The ongoing costs of running a business, such as rent, utilities, and insurance, not directly tied to producing a specific product.
Usage Examples
Adjective:
- The office has overhead lighting. (The lighting is fixed to the ceiling.)
- We store supplies on the overhead shelf. (The shelf is above head level.)
Adverb:
- The gymnast held her legs together overhead. (She held her legs above her head.)
- We heard a plane flying overhead. (A plane was flying in the sky above us.)
Noun:
- She won the point with a powerful overhead. (She hit a winning shot from above her head in tennis.)
- The teacher placed a diagram on the overhead. (She used a transparency on the projector.)
- High rent increases our overhead. (The cost of renting the space is a major operating expense.)
- System overhead can slow down the computer. (The processing time for system tasks affects performance.)
Advanced Usage
"Overhead costs/expenses": The fixed, regular expenses required to operate a business.
- Reducing overhead is key to improving profit margins.
"Overhead projector": A device that projects images from transparencies onto a screen.
- The presentation was made using an overhead projector.
"Computational/System overhead": The extra resources a computer system uses for tasks other than the primary computation.
- This encryption software has minimal overhead.
Variants and Related Words
- Overheads (n, plural): Commonly used in British English to mean operating expenses.
- The company's overheads are too high.
Synonyms
- Adjective/Adverb: Above, aloft, elevated, upper.
- Noun (Expenses): Operating costs, fixed costs, indirect costs, burden.
- Noun (Stroke): Smash (in tennis/badminton).
Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)
(Note: "Overhead" is not typically used to form phrasal verbs. The following are related verb phrases.) - To keep overheads down: To manage and reduce operating expenses. - We work from home to keep overheads down.
Related Idioms
- A cloud overhead: Literally, a cloud in the sky; figuratively, a looming problem or worry.
- The threat of layoffs was a cloud overhead for the staff.
- To be/come overhead: To be or become the dominant issue or primary concern.
- For the project manager, the budget is overhead right now. (This usage is less common and more contextual.)
Adjective
- located or originating from above
- an overhead crossing
Adverb
- above the head; over the head
- bring the legs together overhead
- above your head; in the sky
- planes were flying overhead
Noun
- a hard return hitting the tennis ball above your head
- (nautical) the top surface of an enclosed space on a ship
- a transparency for use with an overhead projector
- (computer science) the disk space required for information that is not data but is used for location and timing
- (computer science) the processing time required by a device prior to the execution of a command
- 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