oversee
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English
Etymology
From Middle English overseen, ouverseen, from Old English ofersēon (“to observe, oversee; to overlook, neglect”), equivalent to over- + see.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː/, [ˌəʊ̯.vəˈsiː]
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˌoʊ.vɚˈsi/, [ˌoʊ̯.vɚˈsi]
- (New Zealand, General Australian) IPA(key): /ˌɐʉ.vəˈsiː/, [ˌɐʉ̯.vɐˈsiː]
- Hyphenation: over‧see
- Rhymes: -iː
- Homophone: oversea
Verb
oversee (third-person singular simple present oversees, present participle overseeing, simple past oversaw, past participle overseen) (transitive)
- (literally) To survey, look at something in a wide angle.
- (figuratively) To supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group.
- Synonym: superintend
- It is congress's duty to oversee the spending of federal funds.
- 2022 February 9, Tom Allett, “The BTP's eyes and ears in the air”, in RAIL, number 950, page 50:
- Based 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.
- To inspect, examine
- Gamekeepers oversee a hunting ground to see to the wildlife's welfare and look for poachers.
- (obsolete) To fail to see; to overlook, ignore.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- Thereat the Elfe did blush in priuitee, / And turnd his face away; but she the same / Dissembled faire, and faynd to ouersee.
- To observe secretly or unintentionally.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to survey, look at something in a wide angle
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to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group
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to inspect, examine
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to see secretly or unintentionally
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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See also
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms prefixed with over-
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- Rhymes:English/iː
- Rhymes:English/iː/3 syllables
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