oversee

verb

over·​see ˌō-vər-ˈsē 

oversaw ˌō-vər-ˈsȯ  ; overseen ˌō-vər-ˈsēn  ; overseeing

transitive verb

1

: survey, watch

From his hilltop home he can oversee the river below.

2

a

: inspect, examine

oversees all new machinery

b

: to watch over and direct (an undertaking, a group of workers, etc.) in order to ensure a satisfactory outcome or performance : supervise

was hired to oversee the design and construction of the new library

oversaw 20 employees

Synonyms of oversee

• supervise
• manage
• operate
• regulate
• handle
• control
• conduct
• govern

Examples of oversee in a Sentence

He was hired to oversee design and construction of the new facility.

will oversee the new manufacturing division

Recent Examples on the Web

About Terry Lemons Terry Lemons spent more than 25 years at the IRS, overseeing the agency’s communications operations for over 17 years before retiring last February. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026

The McClatchy Commerce Content team, which is independent from our newsroom, oversees this content. —Barbara White, Kansas City Star, 29 Jan. 2026

Aronofsky is executive producing with his longtime writing partners Ari Handel and Lucas Sussman, the latter of whom is overseeing a team of writers, with a host of editors, artists, directors and designers also working on the project. —Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 29 Jan. 2026

Israel and Iran exchanged missile fire, something overseen by the Guard. —Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for oversee

• agree
• allee
• banshee
• beastly
• bibi
• bowsprit
• carefree
• cerci
• chablis
• cowpea
• crappie
• crappy

Kids Definition

oversee

verb

over·​see ˌō-vər-ˈsē 

oversaw -ˈsȯ  ; overseen -ˈsēn  ; overseeing

1

: to look down upon : survey

2

a

: to look over : examine

b

: superintend, supervise