overnight and oversight differ by a single letter, buried far enough into the word to be easy to miss. overnight means “during or for the length of one night”. oversight means “an unintentional omission resulting from failure to notice something”. overnight is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈoʊvɚˈnaɪt/
1.adv.during or for the length of one night
“the fish marinates overnight”
2.adv.happening in a short time or with great speed
“these solutions cannot be found overnight!”
3.adj.lasting, open, or operating through the whole night
“a nightlong vigil”
/ˈoʊvɚˌsaɪt/
1.n.an unintentional omission resulting from failure to notice something
2.n.management by overseeing the performance or operation of a person or group
3.n.a mistake resulting from inattention
| overnight | oversight | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈoʊvɚˈnaɪt/ | /ˈoʊvɚˌsaɪt/ |
| Said | OH-vur-nahyt | OH-vur-sahyt |
| Syllables | 3 | 3 |
| Letters | 9 | 9 |
| Parts of speech | adverb, adjective | noun |
| Senses | 3 | 3 |
| How common | Common | Familiar |
| Synonyms | none recorded | inadvertence |
Full entry for overnight · Full entry for oversight · More comparisons