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PlainSpell

oversee

over·see/ˌoʊ.vɚˈsi/verb

oversee is spelled O-V-E-R-S-E-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (over·see). It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,731st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, oversee means “To survey, look at something in a wide angle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in oversee?

Letters7: O-V-E-R-S-E-E
Syllables2: over·see
In writing3.2 times per million words; the 14,731st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is oversee?

Oversee appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,731st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce oversee?

  • UK /ˌəʊ.vəˈsiː/
  • UK [ˌəʊ̯.vəˈsiː]
  • US /ˌoʊ.vɚˈsi/

Oversee has 2 syllables, split over·see in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-oversee.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with oversee

Sounds like: oversea (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with oversee?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as oversee from its last stressed vowel (/i/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of oversee

  • oversees present, singular, he/she/it
  • overseeing participle, present
  • oversaw past
  • overseen participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does oversee mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To survey, look at something in a wide angle.

  2. 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.

  3. 3

    To inspect, examine.

    Gamekeepers oversee a hunting ground to see to the wildlife's welfare and look for poachers.

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo fail to see; to overlook, ignore.

  5. 5

    To observe secretly or unintentionally.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Oversee in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Germanüberblicken (to survey, look at something in a wide angle), beaufsichtigen, überwachen, leiten, managen (to supervise, guide, review or direct the…)
Portuguesesondar (to survey, look at something in a wide angle), supervisionar (to supervise, guide, review or direct the…), vigiar (to see secretly or unintentionally)
Frenchsuperviser (to supervise, guide, review or direct the…)
Spanishsupervisar (to supervise, guide, review or direct the…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does oversee come from?

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

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after oversee