How to use overhead in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun, adverb

Overhead means located above, especially over the head. Example: “Place your luggage in the overhead lockers.”

Examples of overhead by meaning

adjectiveLocated above, especially over the head.

Place your luggage in the overhead lockers.
The railway consists of some 18 miles of double track electrified on the overhead principle.1957 June, F. K. Pearson, “The Manx Electric Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 425
Inside, drivers sit and chat in between shifts, the overhead fan whirring and causing the dim electric light to flicker over their faces.2017 April 6, Samira Shackle, “On the frontline with Karachi’s ambulance drivers”, in the Guardian

nounA compartment above the seats for stowing luggage in a passenger aircraft.

There was no room left in the overheads for our luggage, our seats did not recline, and the washrooms were right behind us.2013, Rana Florida, Upgrade: Taking Your Work and Life from Ordinary to Extraordinary

nounData or steps of computation used only to facilitate the computations in the system and not directly related to the...

Network overhead is the header data that is required to route and transport data over the network, whereas fork overhead is the additional time and memory cost of creating and managing new processes within the operating system.

adverbAbove one's head; in the sky.

birds flying overhead

prepositionAbove.

Cigarette smoke was sucked out through the cracks in the glass of the glazed panes overhead the side street and the parking lot.1976 August 14, Matthew Wolfe, “Cruising a Tea Room or; Does Gertrude Stein Really Drink Coffee”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number...

More sentences with overhead

Swing it from side to side in a high arc overhead.From the entry arc
Check all personal items are securely stowed in the overhead lockers.From the entry securely
The company accountants worked their magic and found a way to lower overhead costs.From the entry work one's magic
Please put up your luggage in the overhead bins.From the entry put up
Profits are only up right now because they slashed overhead, but employee morale and product quality have collapsed too.From the entry slash
I looked up and saw the airplane overhead.From the entry up
I tried to film the UFO as it passed overhead.From the entry film
This engine is an overhead valve model.From the entry overhead valve
This engine is an overhead cam model.From the entry overhead cam
On Friday nights, the roller rink had a time-block called "Lovers' Lap" when they played nothing but ballads on the overhead speakers.From the entry ballad
This engine is an overhead valve.From the entry overhead valve
This engine has an overhead cam.From the entry overhead cam
Falcons circling overhead have two eyes, just like hammerhead sharks roving through the ocean.2026 February 23, Carl Zimmer, “The Rise of Eyes Began With Just One. Even Charles Darwin was puzzled by the evolution of the vertebrate…. From the entry cyclops
Great silhouettes overhead swashed the blue satin sky with scimitar wings—Magnificent Frigatebirds!2019, Nancy Corson Carter, A Green Bough: Poems For Renewal, page 6. From the entry swash
A golden-backed woodpecker knock-knocked on a tree while whistling ducks flew overhead; there were few other people.2019 September 8, Sarah Baxter, “Sun, squats and 'suicide sprints' – is this punishing Sri Lankan retreat worth the sweat?”, in Chris…. From the entry knock-knock
A charm of finches flew overhead, singing into the vivid afternoon sky.2018, Holly Ringland, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. From the entry charm
Overhead lights swung wildly around the hole that it had burned through the ceiling.2017 November, N. K. Jemisin, Mac Walters, chapter 15, in Mass Effect Andromeda: Initiation, 1st edition (Science Fiction), Titan Books…. From the entry chiaroscuro
Gulls cawed and wheeled overhead, dropping splatty white cluster bombs on rooftops and pavements.2015, Bill Bryson, The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island, page 206. From the entry regular
Finally, there is high computational overhead for ensuring the concurrence which requires a repeating process.2015, Aparna A. P. & Neethu, International Journal of Innovative Research in Computer and Communication Engineering - Volume 3 - Issue 6…. From the entry adequatively
All his attacks were overhead strikes, a piece of cake to any aikidōka.2015, Ellis Amdur, “So How Tough Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?”, in Dueling with O-sensei: Grappling with the Myth of the Warrior…. From the entry aikidōka
His buggish eyes were as prominent as the full moon overhead.2012, Daniel Coleman, Gifts and Consequences. From the entry buggish
One of Alatrade’s main service problem areas was the overhead dock doors.2012 May 3, “Alatrade Foods chooses TKO WelterWeight dock doors”, in FleetOwner, United States, archived from the original on 04 Sep 2025. From the entry dock door
Stupefying heat shimmered in the mangrove forest, the sun an unfaceable white glare somewhere overhead.2011, A. A. Jameson, Shark People, page 113. From the entry unfaceable
And then there's my overhead and my underhead and my in-betweens.2011, Jon Sharpe, The Trailsman #359: Platte River Gauntlet, page 21. From the entry underhead
Jump in the hoop, bring the hoop overhead, and place the hoop on floor again.2010, Kathy Ermler, Joella H. Mehrhof, Joan Carley-Brewer, Bob FitzPatrick, Flash Fitness & the Incredible Physical Activites: A…. From the entry jump in
The gym had a self-spotting weight system: bench press with three hundred pounds and overhead pull-down bars.2010, Bill Blanchet, The Reform Plan, page 44. From the entry self-spot
The group played huge drums placed overhead, along with flutes and a kotolike zither.2008 January 15, Jon Pareles, “To See (and Hear) the World in Five Hours: Unique Sounds Ripe for Import”, in The New York Times. From the entry flute
The mist that lipped against the wall behind him hung overhead like a ceiling, hiding any stars.2008, Julie Czerneda, Riders of the Storm, New York: Daw Books, Interlude, page 406. From the entry lip
To maximize my chances of finding overhead bin space, I have a 21-inch-long rollerboard.2008 April 13, “Letters: Carrying Your Stuff”, in New York Times. From the entry rollerboard
Now do a curl and an overhead press, keeping your palms facing in.2007 (Jan/Feb), Jon Crosby, "Your Winter Muscle Makeover", Men's Health, page 54. From the entry curl
Sometimes, they held all their scutums together to form a huge shield overhead.2007, Christine Dugan, “A Powerful Army”, in Julius Caesar: Roman Leader, Teacher Created Materials, published 2008, →ISBN, page 15. From the entry scutums
The flood level has already risen overhead and is still rising .2006, Gael Turnbull, There are Words: Collected Poems, Shearsman Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 167. From the entry under water
Then we took a chainfall and hooked it to an overhead beam and then to the cowlift.2006, Duff Brenna, The Book of Mamie, page 195. From the entry cowlift

Meaning of overhead

adjective Located above, especially over the head.
adjective Kicked over one's own head.
noun The expense of a business not directly assigned to goods or services provided.

Full definition of overhead

Questions about overhead in a sentence

How do you use overhead in a sentence?: Overhead is used as an adjective, noun and adverb. For example: “Place your luggage in the overhead lockers.”
What is a short sentence with overhead?: “birds flying overhead”
What does overhead mean?: Overhead means located above, especially over the head.

Adapted from Wiktionary: overhead (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use overhead in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/overhead. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.