Origin: Germanic Old English prefix
Overhead has 13 different meanings across 3 categories:
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
"The landlord calculated the monthly overhead by adding the property taxes, utility bills, and insurance premium."
(computer science) the processing time required by a device prior to the execution of a command
"The server's slow response was caused by excessive overhead from its complex security protocols before any user requests were processed."
(computer science) the disk space required for information that is not data but is used for location and timing
"The system administrator noticed that a significant portion of the drive was consumed by overhead, leaving little room for actual user files."
(nautical) the top surface of an enclosed space on a ship
"The crew wiped away condensation from the wet overhead before securing the cargo in the hold."
The expense of a business not directly assigned to goods or services provided.
"The teacher placed the transparency on the overhead to show the class the diagram."
An overhead projector.
In plain English: Overhead is money spent on running a business that isn't directly tied to making its products, such as rent or electricity bills.
"The restaurant's monthly overhead costs are higher than expected due to rising rent and utility bills."
located above, especially over the head
"The hanging light fixture was positioned directly overhead to illuminate the kitchen table."
In plain English: Overhead means something located directly above you, like lights hanging from the ceiling.
"The overhead lights were too bright for reading comfortably."
Usage: Use this adjective specifically when referring to indirect costs that are necessary for running a business but cannot be traced to individual products. Do not use it as an adverb meaning "above" or "overhead," as those forms require different grammatical structures.
Above one's head; in the sky.
"The seagulls flew overhead as we walked along the beach."
In plain English: Overhead means something that is located directly above you, like lights hanging from the ceiling.
"The birds flew overhead without noticing us below."
Overhead comes from Middle English owerheved, which combined the words for "over" and "head." The term originally described a position above someone's head before evolving to mean costs or expenses incurred by an organization.