oversee
Americanverb (used with object)
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to direct (work or workers); supervise; manage.
He was hired to oversee the construction crews.
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to see or observe secretly or unintentionally.
We happened to oversee the burglar leaving the premises. He was overseen stealing the letters.
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to survey or watch, as from a higher position.
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to look over; examine; inspect.
verb
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to watch over and direct; supervise
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to watch secretly or accidentally
Etymology
Origin of oversee
First recorded before 900; Middle English overseen, Old English ofersēon; equivalent to over- + see 1
Explanation
To oversee is to supervise or watch over, the way a principal oversees a school or a store manager oversees everyone who works there. This verb comes from the Old English oferseon, to "look down upon," which is also how oversee was originally used. You can say, "From this hill I oversee the whole town," but today it's much more common for oversee to mean supervise. If your Spanish club puts you in charge of the bake sale, you'll oversee everything: pricing the brownies, arranging cookies on a table, and reminding volunteers when to show up.
Vocabulary lists containing oversee
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.
On Tuesday, the two sides strengthened their relationship by creating a new joint committee of six commanders to oversee a joint force.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
And they report this information to executive management and the board in quantitative and qualitative ways, so that leadership can oversee the details and the firm’s overall direction for AI.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
A new Department of Justice fraud enforcement division will now oversee criminal tax enforcement, alongside healthcare, benefits, and corporate fraud.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
They direct and appoint leaders to the state’s many executive agencies, boards and commissions, which oversee vast portfolios in vital areas, such as the environment, California’s university systems and the state parole board.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
Didn’t seem like the most sanitary guy in the world to oversee all the cooking, Thomas thought.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
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.
