oversee - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English overseen, ouverseen, from Old English ofersēon (“to observe, oversee; to overlook, neglect”), equivalent to over- +‎ see.

oversee (third-person singular simple present oversees, present participle overseeing, simple past oversaw, past participle overseen) (transitive)

  1. (literally) To survey, look at something in a wide angle.
  2. (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.
    • 2003 November 21, Peter Bradshaw, “Love Actually”, in The Guardian‎[1], archived from the original on 6 March 2026:
      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.
    • 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.
    • 2024 September 4, Philip Haigh, “Can public-private partnerships be made to deliver?”, in RAIL, number 1017, page 53:
      Treasury 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.
  3. To inspect, examine.
    Gamekeepers oversee a hunting ground to see to the wildlife's welfare and look for poachers.
  4. (obsolete) To fail to see; to overlook, ignore.
  5. To observe secretly or unintentionally.

to survey, look at something in a wide angle

to supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group

Translations to be checked