Oversight
1) Supervision or management of a project, operation, or organization. 2) An unintentional failure to notice or do something; an omission or blind spot.
nounOversight
1) Supervision or management of a project, operation, or organization. 2) An unintentional failure to notice or do something; an omission or blind spot.
nounImagine This
Imagine a factory supervisor standing on a catwalk, eyes scanning every workstation; their vigilant oversight keeps safety rules intact and production on track.
Sounds Like
oh-vər-sahyt
Looks Like
Looks like two words: 'over sight' or 'over-site', suggesting something seen from above or by a supervisor.
Remember This
Oversight has two opposing senses: careful supervision (positive) and an unintentional omission (negative). It can be confused with oversee (to supervise) and overlook (to miss).
Other Forms
Connect With
supervision, monitoring, watchfulness, oversight committees, attention to detail
Note
Use oversight to refer to supervision or to a missed detail. Do not use it to mean 'to oversee' (that verb is oversee) or 'to miss' (that would be overlook); context will indicate which sense is intended.
Study Deeper
- The project's success was due to the manager's diligent oversight.
- A budgeting oversight led to costs exceeding the initial estimate.
From over + sight, from Middle English oversight, ultimately from Old English ofer-sih(t) meaning 'to look over.' First used to denote supervision; later extended to mean an omission or failure to notice.
Mnemonic: Over + sight — imagine a giant eye hovering over a site, constantly watching to ensure nothing is missed. Oversight = supervision or an unnoticed omission.
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Acronym
nounA word formed from the initial letters of a phrase, pronounced as a single word and used as a shorthand for the full name (for example, NASA or radar).