overhang

[ verb oh-ver-hang; noun oh-ver-hang ]

verb (used with object)

, o·ver·hung, o·ver·hang·ing.

1. to hang or be suspended over:

   A great chandelier overhung the ballroom.

2. to extend, project, or jut over:

   A wide balcony overhangs the garden.

3. to impend over or threaten, as danger or evil; loom over:

   The threat of war overhung Europe.

4. to spread throughout; permeate; pervade:

   the melancholy that overhung the proceedings.

5. Informal. to hover over, as a threat or menace:

   Unemployment continues to overhang the economic recovery.

verb (used without object)

, o·ver·hung, o·ver·hang·ing.

1. to hang over; project or jut out over something below:

   How far does the balcony overhang?

noun

1. something that extends or juts out over; projection.
2. the extent of projection, as of the bow of a ship.
3. Informal. an excess or surplus:

   an overhang of office space in midtown.

4. a threat or menace:

   to face the overhang of foreign reprisals.

5. Architecture. a projecting upper part of a building, as a roof or balcony.

overhang

verb

1. to project or extend beyond (a surface, building, etc)
2. tr to hang or be suspended over
3. tr to menace, threaten, or dominate

noun

1. a formation, object, part of a structure, etc, that extends beyond or hangs over something, such as an outcrop of rock overhanging a mountain face
2. the amount or extent of projection
3. aeronautics
   1. half the difference in span of the main supporting surfaces of a biplane or other multiplane
   2. the distance from the outer supporting strut of a wing to the wing tip
4. finance the shares, collectively, that the underwriters have to buy when a new issue has not been fully taken up by the market

Word History and Origins

Origin of overhang¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; over- + hang

Example Sentences

Audience members had long complained about lousy acoustics under the balcony overhang and bad views from many seats, especially at the top.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s a wood structure with stucco — no overhang — and we treated the edges and the roof so that they do not catch fire.

From Los Angeles Times

Even worse, the shaking was soon followed by a rather horrifying cracking noise from the overhang.

From Literature

As he frantically searched for another foothold with his right foot he watched the overhang fall away as the stalk continued growing.

From Literature

Jack pushed himself to his feet just as May’s head popped up past the edge of the overhang.

From Literature