3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Overhead  \O`ver*head"\,  adv 
  Aloft;  above;  in  or  attached  to  the  ceiling  or  roof;  in  the 
  story  or  upon  the  floor  above;  in  the  zenith. 
 
  While  overhead  the  moon  Sits  arbitress.  --Milton. 
 
  Note:  Also  used  adjectively;  as  an  overhead  crane,  gear, 
  etc 
 
  {Overhead  engine},  a  vertical  steam  engine  in  which  the 
  cylinder  stands  above  the  crank. 
 
  {Overhead  work},  a  general  term  in  manufactories  for 
  countershafting  and  gearing,  when  overhead. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  overhead 
  adj  :  located  or  originating  from  above;  "an  overhead  crossing" 
  [ant:  {surface},  {subsurface}] 
  n  1:  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 
  [syn:  {operating  expenses},  {operating  cost},  {budget 
  items}] 
  2:  (computer  science)  the  processing  time  required  by  a  device 
  prior  to  the  execution  of  a  command  [syn:  {command 
  processing  overhead  time},  {command  processing  overhead}, 
  {command  overhead}] 
  3:  (computer  science)  the  disk  space  required  for  non-data 
  information  (used  for  location  and  timing)  [syn:  {disk 
  overhead}] 
  4:  a  transparency  for  use  with  an  overhead  projector  [syn:  {viewgraph}] 
  5:  (nautical)  the  top  surface  of  an  enclosed  space  on  a  ship 
  6:  a  hard  return  hitting  the  tennis  ball  above  your  head  [syn: 
  {smash}] 
  adv  1:  above  your  head;  in  the  sky;  "planes  were  flying  overhead" 
  2:  above  the  head;  over  the  head;  "bring  the  legs  together 
  overhead" 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  overhead 
 
  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) 
 
 

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