overheads

British

/ ˈəʊvəˌhɛdz /

plural noun

Also called: burden. fixed costs. indirect costs. oncost. business expenses, such as rent, that are not directly attributable to any department or product and can therefore be assigned only arbitrarily Compare prime cost

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Letting out spare factory space helps struggling European carmakers cover their high overheads.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

This is what economists call a cost-push shock: Rising input costs work through the supply chain, lifting intermediary material costs and overheads.

From MarketWatch • May 13, 2026

Higher aluminum can and freight costs ate into its gross margins slightly, but Monster reduced the percentage of its sales eaten up by operating costs and overheads.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

But Hivernat insists that steep overheads leave little room for profit.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

I answered phones and made plasticene overheads and picked up dry cleaning and kids from day care.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023