oversee

[oh-ver-see]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR oversee ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), o·ver·saw, o·ver·seen, o·ver·see·ing.

to direct (work or workers); supervise; manage: He was hired to oversee the construction crews.

to see or observe secretly or unintentionally: We happened to oversee the burglar leaving the premises. He was overseen stealing the letters.

to survey or watch, as from a higher position.

to look over; examine; inspect.

Origin of oversee

before 900; Middle English overseen, Old English ofersēon. See over-, see¹

Can be confusedoverlook oversee oversight

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for oversee

inspect, command, shepherd, eye, superintend, overlook, watch, boss, herd, chaperon, survey, skipper, captain, baby-sit, quarterback

Examples from the Web for oversee

Contemporary Examples of oversee

But there is no comparable official to oversee efforts for freeing civilian hostages.
Did U.S. Policy Get Luke Somers Killed?
Shane Harris
December 6, 2014
Some factories do not employ Muslims on the premises who can oversee the process, Nana said.
Inside The Growing Organic Halal Movement
Sharon Adarlo
September 7, 2014
Russia was considering sending a group of observers to oversee the May 11 referendum, Russian news reported on Tuesday.
A Putin Climb-Down on Ukraine?
Igor Kossov
May 7, 2014
It also wants an unelected royal commission be appointed to oversee and implement such measures.
Thailand: Into the Void
Lennox Samuels
March 21, 2014
Obamacare is just one example of the risks facing politicians who oversee major tech projects.
Even the Most Powerful Man in the World Is at the Mercy of the IT Guy
Jill Lawrence
March 5, 2014

Historical Examples of oversee

I tried to get him to oversee the mill for me, but, after our trouble, he refused to do anything about it.
Wayside Courtships
Hamlin Garland
He had to go away one time and he hired a white man to oversee while he was gone.
Slave Narratives, Oklahoma
Various
He used to oversee my place on the lake, and did it capitally, too.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Take charge of the marketing, or oversee the housekeeping for a year.
Girls and Women
Harriet E. Paine (AKA E. Chester}
We will not be able to oversee the work, that is a drawback.
The Skylark of Space
Edward Elmer Smith and Lee Hawkins Garby

British Dictionary definitions for oversee

oversee

verb -sees, -seeing, -saw or -seen (tr)

to watch over and direct; supervise

to watch secretly or accidentally

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

Word Origin and History for oversee

Old English oferseon "to look down upon, keep watch over, survey, observe;" see over + see (v.). Meaning "to supervise" is attested from mid-15c. The verb lacks the double sense of similar overlook, but this emerges in the noun form oversight. Related: Oversaw; overseen.