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overhead

Meaning in simple English, pronunciation and examples

Pronunciation: US /ˈoʊvɚhed/ · UK /ˈəʊvəhed/

overhead means: Above your head or high in the sky.

adverb

ABOVE YOUB1

Above your head or high in the sky.

  • A bird flew overhead.
  • Dark clouds gathered overhead as we walked home.
  • We heard a helicopter passing overhead.

Similar words: above, up above

Opposites: below

Common phrases: fly overhead, pass overhead, directly overhead

adjective

LOCATED ABOVEB1

Above you, especially directly above your head.

  • The overhead lights were bright.
  • Put your bag in the overhead locker.
  • Workers repaired the overhead power cables.

Common phrases: overhead lights, overhead wires, overhead locker

FOOTBALL KICKB2

Describing a kick made by lifting your foot above your head to send the ball backwards.

  • He scored with an overhead kick.
  • Her overhead effort flew just wide of the goal.
  • The crowd cheered his spectacular overhead goal.

Similar words: bicycle

Common phrases: overhead kick, an overhead goal

noun

BUSINESS COSTSB2

Regular costs of running a business, such as rent, that are not costs of making individual products.

  • Rent is our biggest overhead.
  • The company reduced its overhead by moving offices.
  • High overhead costs left little room for profit.

Similar words: running costs, operating expenses

Common phrases: reduce overhead, overhead costs, high overhead

WASTED MONEYC2

Money spent without gaining anything useful.

  • That useless fee was pure overhead.
  • He called the unnecessary spending overhead.
  • They treated every wasted dollar as overhead.

Similar words: waste

Common phrases: unnecessary overhead, pure overhead, wasted overhead

preposition

ABOVE SOMETHINGC2

Above someone or something.

  • Stars shone overhead the sleeping town.
  • A thick canopy spread overhead the travelers.
  • Clouds gathered overhead the distant hills.

How to use it: overhead someone/something (Branches formed a green roof overhead the path.)

Similar words: above, over

Opposites: below, under

Common phrases: overhead someone, overhead the trees

Questions about overhead

What does overhead mean?

Above your head or high in the sky.

What is overhead in other languages?

Türkçe: baş üstünde · Español: por encima · Français: au-dessus · Deutsch: über uns · Italiano: sopra · 日本語: 頭上に

How do you pronounce overhead?

In American English /ˈoʊvɚhed/; in British English /ˈəʊvəhed/.

How do you use overhead in a sentence?

A bird flew overhead. Dark clouds gathered overhead as we walked home.

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overhead in other languages

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