Overlook = supervise

[ItaloBrasiliano]

Hi,

I am currently living in London. In a meeting today I wanted to recommend my colleague supervised a project and I said:
"Please, can you overlook the project while I am away"?

He is native and I think, or I hope, he understood. After the meeting I was really confused, I didn't know why I used the word "overlook". Maybe because I heard someone using the word in the same context? I've checked some dictionaries and the main meaning was "fail to notice".
However in the dictionary in this website it says that "overlook" can be "supervise", but the use is archaic. Is it really archaic?
If so, please can you give me some synonyms?
I would prefer no to use "supervise" or other words that give a direct sense of "managing". Supervise would be perfect in the context, but I wanted something more informal.

Thanks

 

[eedeeo]

You've confused the word "overlook" with the word "oversee". "Overlook" means to accidentally miss something; "oversee" means to watch over or supervise. It's easy to see how that could happen!

 

[JulianStuart]

Overlook is indeed a strange word, even for natives!. In one case it means to look upon (A view overlooking the valley below) while in the other sense it means to not see "That's a detail I overlooked".

In your case, I'd suggest, as informal "Could you keep an eye on the project while I'm away?"

Cross-posted - indeed "Oversee" is a word you could use, although it's a bit more formal - more like its Latin roots for supervise

 

[Sun14]

Overlook is indeed a strange word, even for natives!. In one case it means to look upon (A view overlooking the valley below) while in the other sense it means to not see "That's a detail I overlooked".

In your case, I'd suggest, as informal "Could you keep an eye on the project while I'm away?"

Cross-posted - indeed "Oversee" is a word you could use, although it's a bit more formal - more like its Latin roots for supervise

Is there any difference between "oversee" and "supervise"?

Use a surveyor or architect to oversee/supervise and inspect the different stages of the work.