overseer

/ˌˈoʊvərˌˈsɪər/

/əʊvəˈsiə/

Other forms: overseers

An overseer is a boss or manager. On a road crew that's busy fixing potholes, the overseer is the person who supervises the other workers.

While the word overseer is used these days for anyone who works as an official supervisor, especially of a crew doing manual labor, the word was most common in the U.S. when slavery was legal. On a plantation where enslaved people were forced to work, it was the overseer's job to make sure they were productive, ensuring that the plantation owner made as much money as possible. Overseers could, and often did, brutally punish enslaved workers.

Definitions of overseer

1. noun

   a person who directs and manages an organization
   synonyms: superintendent

   types:

   ramrod

   a harshly demanding overseer

   school superintendent

   the superintendent of a school system

   type of:

   supervisor

   one who supervises or has charge and direction of