supervise
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to direct or oversee the performance or operation of
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to watch over so as to maintain order, etc
Usage
What does supervise mean? Supervise means to oversee, watch over, and provide direction for someone or something. You can supervise a project or process as it’s happening, but most of the time the word refers to supervising people, especially parents supervising their children or a manager or supervisor supervising their employees. The noun form of supervise is supervision. Someone being supervised is said to be under supervision. When it’s used in the context of adults watching children, the word often appears in the phrases parental supervision and adult supervision. Children or other people who can’t be left alone are said to need constant supervision. When they are left alone, they’re said to be unsupervised. The adjective form supervisory describes things that involve supervision, such as in the phrases supervisory role and supervisory capacity. Example: The key to supervising your employees effectively is giving them enough space to do their jobs, instead of constantly standing over their shoulders.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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presuperviseverb (used with object)
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unsupervisedadjective
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nonsupervisingadjective
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supervisionnoun
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well-supervisedadjective
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quasi-supervisedadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has supervisedperfect 3rd person singular
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have supervisedperfect
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am supervisingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been supervisingperfect progressive
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is supervisingprogressive 3rd person singular
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supervisessingular 3rd person
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supervisingparticiple
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are supervisingprogressive
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has been supervisingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had supervisedperfect
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supervisedsimple
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were supervisingprogressive plural
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was supervisingprogressive singular
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supervisedparticiple
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had been supervisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of supervise
First recorded in 1580–90; from Medieval Latin supervīsus “overseen,” past participle of supervidēre “to oversee,” from super- super- + vidēre “to see”; see also wit 2
Explanation
If your mother asks you to supervise your little brother and his friends, it means she'd like you to keep an eye on them. The verb supervise has origins in the Latin word supervidere, from super-, meaning “over” and videre, meaning “to see.” When you supervise something, it means you oversee the project, managing the people working on it, perhaps by figuring out what needs to be done, assigning the work, and making sure it gets done properly. You serve as the boss when you supervise; other people are the workers.
Vocabulary lists containing supervise
Power Prefix: super-
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Common Senses: Vid, Vis ("See")
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A Résumé of Active Words
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nix admitted she had given a false account of the events to the coroner, but said she had been "in a panic" over having failed to supervise the little girl.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
Her sisters Maria and Judith manage the circus and supervise show details, respectively.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
An expert body to supervise risk is a much more promising model than the FDA or product-safety laws.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was on Tenerife to help supervise the evacuations, said that policy "may have risks".
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
Mom said we couldn’t light the oven until Julia’s mother came out to supervise us, so we put our clumped-together cake batter in the fridge and went to Julia’s room to watch television.
From "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
