Oversees

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˌoʊvɚˈsiz/

Definitions

1. To supervise or manage the work or activities of others to ensure correct performance
2. To watch over and direct tasks or operations in order to maintain proper function
3. To have charge of and guide processes or people to achieve desired outcomes

Etymology: "Oversees" is the third-person singular present form of "oversee," so its history belongs to the verb itself. That verb descends from Old English "ofersēon," which meant both "to observe or oversee" and "to overlook or neglect." The Old English word was built from "ofer," meaning "over," and "sēon," meaning "to see," so its literal sense is simply to look over something from above or beyond. The two meanings in that early word are worth noticing. The sense of watching over a task with authority survives in the modern verb, while the sense of failing to notice something, the origin of the modern "overlook," has become the dominant idea of the verb's neglectful twin. In Middle English the word appeared in forms like "overseen" and "ouverseen," which carried both the watchful and the careless senses side by side.

Synonyms: supervises, manages, directs, administers, controls

Antonyms: neglects, overlooks, ignores, disregards, abandon