overhand

1 of 3

adjective

over·​hand ˈō-vər-ˌhand How to pronounce overhand (audio)
: made with the hand brought forward and down from above shoulder level
overhand adverb
overhanded adverb or adjective

overhand

2 of 3

verb

overhanded; overhanding; overhands

transitive verb

: to sew with short vertical stitches

overhand

3 of 3

noun

: an overhand stroke (as in handball)

Examples of overhand in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Manuel, though only around a pound heavier than Gutierrez, is more muscular, and uses his heft to establish an early advantage, double-jabbing the body and head to set up left hooks and overhand rights, always moving forward. Ben Wyatt, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2023 How to Do It: Hang from a bar with an overhand grip. Greg Presto, Men's Health, 27 July 2023 How to Do It: Standing beneath a pullup bar, grab the bar with hands slightly further than shoulder-width apart using an overhand grip. Alyssa Sparacino, Men's Health, 28 June 2023 With 6:46 left in the first half of Slovenia’s EuroBasket game Saturday against Hungary, Doncic motioned from the sideline for a quick in-bounds pass and hit teammate Zoran Dragic, who broke straight to the basket, with an overhand dart just below the net. Dallas News, 6 Sep. 2022 Placing your hands shoulder-width apart, use an underhand grip with one hand and an overhand grip with the other. Tony Gentilcore, Men's Health, 30 Nov. 2022 Keep a slight bend in your knees, and without rounding your spine, hinge forward at your hips to reach down and grab the handle with both hands, using an overhand grip. Hayden Carpenter, Outside Online, 23 Nov. 2019 Push your butt back and hinge at the hips to grasp the bar in both hands in an overhand grip. Men's Health, 8 Feb. 2023 The freshman whipped a two-hand, overhand skip-pass across the court into the awaiting arms of Baker, who immediately went up with it for a 3-pointer. Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press, 15 Jan. 2023
Verb
Unlike most of the other women in the field, Lenglen served overhanded. Jon Wertheim and Jacob Feldman, SI.com, 27 June 2019 Rizzo was visibly upset after getting plunked, throwing his bat overhanded toward the Chicago dugout. USA TODAY, 27 Sep. 2017
Noun
In each, Lee performs a release move from the uneven bars using a reverse grip, catches some serious air, flips, and then twists completely before catching the bar back overhand. Christa Sgobba, SELF, 24 Jan. 2024 Álvarez dominated from start to finish and knocked Charlo down with an overhand right in the seventh round. Jorge Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2023 Alvarez, the reigning undisputed super middleweight champion, is favored over Charlo, the current undisputed junior middleweight champ, but Charlo has a 73 inch reach, a nasty left jab and a devastating overhand right that times well off of that jab. Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2023 Grab the bar with an overhand grip, a little wider than shoulder width. Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 31 Aug. 2023 Grasp it with an overhand grip, squeeze your shoulder blades, and pull your torso upward, pausing at the top. Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 18 Aug. 2023 In the sixth inning on Saturday night, Anderson and Ramírez threw punches at second base, and the Guardians’ All-Star third baseman knocked down Anderson with a lucky overhand right to the chin. Tom Withers, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Aug. 2023 How to Do It: Grab the bar with a strong overhand grip. Brett Williams, Men's Health, 13 July 2023 An agonizing video of the incident released Wednesday night shows the woman protesting and pleading for several minutes before a male deputy at the edge of the frame throws two overhand punches at her head. Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 13 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'overhand.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1656, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1871, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1934, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of overhand was in 1656

Dictionary Entries Near overhand

Cite this Entry

“Overhand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overhand. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

overhand

1 of 2 adjective
over·​hand ˈō-vər-ˌhand How to pronounce overhand (audio)
: made with the hand brought forward and down from above shoulder level
an overhand pitch
an overhand tennis stroke
overhand adverb
overhanded adverb

overhand

2 of 2 noun
: an overhand stroke (as in tennis)
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