oversee
//ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː//
Forms
- present (v1)
- oversee
- past (v2)
- oversaw
- past participle (v3)
- overseen
- present participle
- overseeing
- 3rd person singular
- oversees
Definitions
1.To survey, look at something in a wide angle.
2.To supervise, guide, review or direct the actions of a person or group.
- It is congress's duty to oversee the spending of federal funds.
- 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.
- 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.
3.To inspect, examine.
- Gamekeepers oversee a hunting ground to see to the wildlife's welfare and look for poachers.
4.To observe secretly or unintentionally.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4420
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Etymology
From Middle English overseen, ouverseen
From Old English ofersēon (“to observe, oversee; to overlook, neglect”), equivalent to over- + see.