Meanings
present singular third person oversees · participle present overseeing · past oversaw · participle past overseen
- figurativelytransitiveTo supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group.
It is congress's duty to oversee the spending of federal funds.
3 more examples
And overseeing them all, like a raddled old good-ish fairy, is Bill Nighy, playing a superannuated rocker hoping to get a Christmas number one with his cynically repackaged version of Love Is All Around.
2003 November 21, Peter Bradshaw, “Love Actually”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2026Based at BTP's London headquarters, Russell's team of three full-timers in the drone unit are responsible for overseeing the safety of drones in support of police officers.
2022 February 9, Tom Allett, “The BTP's eyes and ears in the air”, in RAIL, number 950, page 50Treasury could also ask why High Speed 2's finances are so adrift from what was promised. The answers will make for difficult DfT reading, because it can't escape the fact that it has been the government department overseeing rail spending for the past 20 years.
2024 September 4, Philip Haigh, “Can public-private partnerships be made to deliver?”, in RAIL, number 1017, page 53Synonyms: superintend
- obsoletetransitiveTo fail to see; to overlook, ignore.
Thereat the Elfe did blush in priuitee, / And turnd his face away; but she the same / Dissembled faire, and faynd to ouersee.
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC - transitiveTo observe secretly or unintentionally.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishofersēon“to observe, oversee; to overlook, neglect”
- Middle Englishoverseen
- Englishoversee
From Middle English overseen, ouverseen, from Old English ofersēon (“to observe, oversee; to overlook, neglect”), equivalent to over- + see.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἐφοράω
- ἐφοράω (ephoráō)to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
Arabic أَشْرَفَ عَلَى
- أَشْرَفَ عَلَى (ʔašrafa ʕalā)to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
Bulgarian преглеждам, надзиравам
- преглеждам (pregleždam)to survey, look at something in a wide angle
- надзиравам (nadziravam)to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- съглеждам (săgleždam)to see secretly or unintentionally
Chinese Mandarin 調查 /调查, 監督 /监督
- 調查 /调查 (diàochá)to survey, look at something in a wide angle
- 監督 /监督 (jiāndū)to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- 指導 /指导 (zhǐdǎo)to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- 檢查 /检查 (jiǎnchá)to inspect, examine
- 監視 /监视 (jiānshì)to see secretly or unintentionally
Dutch overzien, overschouwen
- overziento survey, look at something in a wide angle
- overschouwento survey, look at something in a wide angle
- toezien opto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- toezicht houden opto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- een oog(je) houden opto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- bekijkento inspect, examine
- toezien opto inspect, examine
Finnish katsoa, valvoa
- katsoato survey, look at something in a wide angle
- valvoato survey, look at something in a wide angle
- valvoato supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- johtaato supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- tarkastellato inspect, examine
- katsoato inspect, examine
- tutkiato inspect, examine
- nähdäto see secretly or unintentionally
- tarkkaillato see secretly or unintentionally
- kytätäto see secretly or unintentionally
French superviser
- superviserto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
German überblicken, beaufsichtigen
- überblickento survey, look at something in a wide angle
- beaufsichtigento supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- überwachento supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- leitento supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- managento supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- beaufsichtigento inspect, examine
- überwachento inspect, examine
Greek επιτηρώ, επιτηρούμε
- επιτηρώ (epitiró)to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- επιτηρούμε (epitiroúme)to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
Italian sondare, supervisionare
- sondareto survey, look at something in a wide angle
- supervisionareto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- esaminareto inspect, examine
- ispezionareto inspect, examine
Korean 감독하다
- 감독하다 (gamdokhada)to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
Polish przeglądać, przejrzeć
- przeglądaćto survey, look at something in a wide angle
- przejrzećto survey, look at something in a wide angle
- nadzorowaćto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- doglądaćto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
Portuguese sondar, supervisionar
- sondarto survey, look at something in a wide angle
- supervisionarto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- vigiarto see secretly or unintentionally
Russian обозревать
- обозревать (obozrevatʹ)to survey, look at something in a wide angle
Spanish supervisar
- supervisarto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
Turkish bakmak, gözetmek
- bakmakto survey, look at something in a wide angle
- gözetmekto survey, look at something in a wide angle
- izlemekto survey, look at something in a wide angle
- gözetim altında tutmakto survey, look at something in a wide angle
- idare etmekto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- yönetmekto supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
- denetlemekto inspect, examine
- kontrol etmekto inspect, examine
Ukrainian наглядати
- наглядати (nahljadaty)to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with oversee
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
oversee. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oversee
“oversee.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oversee. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oversee,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oversee.
Source: oversee on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.