overseer
Americannoun
noun
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Also called (less commonly): overlooker. a person who oversees others, esp workmen
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history short for overseer of the poor; a minor official of a parish attached to the workhouse or poorhouse
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of overseer
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at oversee, -er 1
Explanation
An overseer is a boss or manager. On a road crew that's busy fixing potholes, the overseer is the person who supervises the other workers. While the word overseer is used these days for anyone who works as an official supervisor, especially of a crew doing manual labor, the word was most common in the U.S. when slavery was legal. On a plantation where enslaved people were forced to work, it was the overseer's job to make sure they were productive, ensuring that the plantation owner made as much money as possible. Overseers could, and often did, brutally punish enslaved workers.
Vocabulary lists containing overseer
"The People Could Fly," Vocabulary from the folk tale
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Sugar Changed the World
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Chapter 14: North and South
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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.
After events in the first episode of “Fallout,” viewers may wonder if they’ll see Overseer Hank again.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 10, 2024
She has refused to inherit her husband's title of "General Overseer", saying that he is still in charge and that she has only "commenced the journey from where our father left the baton".
From BBC • Nov. 21, 2021
Players will be able to become the Overseer of a settlement, and build it up from a small collection of buildings into a larger town.
From The Verge • Sep. 1, 2021
You emerge from a fallout shelter and are given the task of following in the footsteps of its former Overseer.
From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2018
For many years he was a member of the School Committee and an Overseer of the Poor, and rendered efficient services in those positions.
From The New England Magazine Volume 1, No. 3, March, 1886 Bay State Monthly Volume 4, No. 3, March, 1886 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
