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

Buildings with south-facing windows will benefit from overhangs that prevent the sun from coming in at the hottest times of day, she said, and roofs should be painted white.

From Los Angeles Times

The goats have also attacked the neighbors and climbed on top of their car in a shared driveway to eat the leaves off an overhanging tree, Paszterko wrote in his Aug. 7 filing.

From Los Angeles Times

“The debate a few weeks ago and the intense questions around whether Joe Biden should be the nominee — that was going to be overhanging this whole convention up until what happened Saturday.”

From Los Angeles Times

The cave has a skylight on the Moon’s surface, leading down to vertical and overhanging walls, and a sloping floor that might extend further underground.

From BBC