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
-
to watch secretly or accidentally
Etymology
Origin of oversee
First recorded before 900; Middle English overseen, Old English ofersēon; equivalent to over- + see 1
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.
An overwhelming majority of system users in a study commissioned by the agency that oversees the lifeline said they found it helpful and potentially lifesaving.
From Los Angeles Times
Most of those cases had been opened by Grady O’Malley, an assistant U.S. attorney who oversaw several prosecutions of union corruption while working in the New Jersey office over four decades.
From Salon
He is based in New York, where he oversees coverage of Canada and Latin America.
Both executives have also overseen layoffs at their companies already this year.
From BBC
“There is frustration among ownership about the state of the negotiations,” said NFL executive Jeff Miller, responsible for overseeing the league’s communications and public affairs.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
